


There's A Reason It's Called RAINBOW Six Siege

by Samarii



Category: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (Video Games)
Genre: Boyfriends, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Cute, Denial of Feelings, Drinking, Drunken Flirting, Everyone Is Gay, First Kiss, First Meetings, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Fluff without Plot, M/M, Multi, SO MUCH FLUFF, Teasing, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2020-11-22 20:28:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20880206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Samarii/pseuds/Samarii
Summary: A collection of one-shots featuring the boys of Rainbow Six Siege.





	1. Montagne/Doc/Rook

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again everyone! I'm back with another story, or really I should say multiple stories! Anyway, I hope you enjoy the first chapter :D

Rook sat in the back of the military van by himself. Before, the van was filled with three other men but after a mission gone horribly, horribly, wrong, the Frenchman was left alone to shoulder the guilt of their deaths. He stared down at his hands which refused to stop shaking, then glanced to his legs to see they were also shaking beyong his control. He closed his hands into fists as tightly as he could to distract himself from the shock running through his body. It didn't help.

He felt something warm start to trail down his head so he lifted his hand to touch the spot. He lowered the hand to see red now on his fingertips. The young man quickly removed his helmet and turned to look at himself in the reflective metal of the vehicle. The Frenchman frantically looked over his head and face for gashes to find one above his left eyebrow. It didn't seem too deep but it was starting to bleed heavily. The young man took in a deep breath to attempt to calm himself as he put pressure on the wound with his sleeve. He would have to wait until he got back to base to have it properly taken care of.

Of course, this meant going to Doc, the best, and only, doctor on Hereford Base. The problem was, Doc was one of Rook's partners and knew him better than anyone. With how well he was holding himself together now, the young man knew as soon as he entered Doc's office and his gentle gaze met his own, he would fall apart right then and there. He would break down and cry and scream into the doctor's shoulder while the older man did he best to comfort Rook.

He supposed he could go to his other lover Montagne, but Monty was the most gentle soul on Earth and Rook couldn't bear to make him distraught as he knew he would be after hearing the terrible news.

So to Doc it was.

The van finally came to a hault, signaling to the young Rook at it had arrived at the base. He collected himself and his gear then opened the doors and jumped out. Ash, who was driving the van, stepped over to him to say something but Rook shook his head at her as he kept walking. Her shoulders dropped and she watched him go with a worried expression on her face, but made no effort to stop him.

Rook made it back to his room without any interruptions from other operators and made straight for Doc's office.

He peaked his head in the already open door to see Doc calmly typing away on his computer. The older man immediately glanced over to mske eye contact with Rook, "ah, I see you're back from the mission. Good, good." He paused as he noticed the still bleeding cut on the young Frenchman's head, "it seems you got a little wound. Which I'm assuming is why you're here. Come then, I'll patch you up."

Rooked nodded and shuffled over to one of the medical beds within the room. Doc gave a curious glance at his young lover while he washed his hands and put together all he needed to clean the wound. Rook was normally a bright and chipper soul, so him not talking was setting off a huge red flag to Doc.

The doctor approached Rook and gently pushed his hair out of his face so he could begin cleaning the cut. As he did, the young Frenchman stared intently at one of the buttons of Doc's white coat. 'Keep it together, keep it together, keep it together.' He repeated to himself endlessly in his mind. He bit hard on his lip to make for a distraction from his overwhelming thoughts but it did no good.

Before he could stop it, Rook felt his eyes begin to fill with tears, his vision becoming blurry as he sniffed once then twice. Doc noticed and stop his cleaning to look down at Rook's face, "Julien? What's wrong, mon amour?" He set the used rag down on the tray and put his hands on Rook's shoulders.

Julien took in a breath before letting out a wail as he collapsed forward against Doc's chest. He cried into his clothes and tried to wrap his arms around his waist for support.

Doc didn't hesitate to support the upset Rook as he helped hold him up and then gently guided him down to the floor. There, the two sat embracing each other as Rook continued to wail, "oh God, Gustave, it was so awful! Their faces, their poor faces--so scared and confused. I was supposed to protect them, I was--oh God, Gustave." Julien explained before collapsing into Doc's chest again. Doc hushed his crying partner and gently ran his fingers through the younger man's hair to help comfort him.

Then, as if it were a mother running to her crying child, the large Montagne quickly appeared in the doorframe of Doc's office. He looked worried and confused as his gaze fell on Doc and Rook on the ground together. "I thought I heard Julien cry--oh, no. Julien..." Monty said gently as he walked over to the two. Without even being told, Montagne knew why Rook was so upset.

The large Frenchman sat down on the other side of Rook and wrapped his arms around his small lover to help comfort him. "It's alright Julien, let it all out. We're hear for you." Monty gently kissed the top of the younger operator's head while he wrapped one of his arms around the other man's waist. Doc copied Monty by also placing a kiss on Rook's head and continued to stroke his hair.

After being on the floor for some time, Rook was finally starting to calm down. His crying slowed down to a small whimper and sniffed every so often. Eventually, he sat up and wiped his eyes, "I'm alright now, I can stand." He assured his two partners.

Doc and Monty exchanged glances and let go of their shorter lover so they could stand up with him. Once they did, Rook sniffed once more and offered a broken smile to the two of them, "thank you for that."

"Of course." Doc reassured him with a warm smile. Montagne wrapped both his arms around Rook and hugged him tightly, bending backward slightly so Rook's feet were almost off the ground, "we love our little plate boy." He teased the other Frenchman affectionately.

Rook couldn't help but laugh while he tried to free himself from his boyfriend's grip, "Hey, stop, don't call me that!" However, the spark of happiness didn't last as the thoughts of what happened just hours ago began to claw its way back into Julien's mind. He slowly stopped laughing and clenched his jaw tightly.

Monty noticed this and put him down again, "you can get through this, Julien. We know you can and we're here for you." He put a comforting hand on the younger man's shoulder, along with Doc. Rook sighed and flashed a small smile, "I know you will be and I love you both for it."

Doc and Monty glanced at each other then both leaned in and gave Rook a kiss on each cheek simultaneously. Julien grunted and blushed madly, attempting to hide his face, "was that really necessary?"

"Yes, it was." Doc and Montagne answered in sync.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be another poly relationship featuring Blackbeard/Maestro/Maverick!
> 
> Also, because I want to build up lots of chapters in this collection, feel free to suggest ships!


	2. Maestro/Blackbeard/Maverick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The three boys decided to have a little night out together at a local pub.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next pairing! The wonderful comments on the first chapter gave me lots of motovation to get this one done! I hope you enjoy!

The quiet American rested his chin in his hand to support his head as he watched out the mess hall windows. Nothing particular was on his mind, just random thoughts and daydreams floating around without sticking for too long. He turned his attention to the other operators in the mess hall with him to begin a session of people-watching. 

He picked up on people's eating quirks, their manners, and anything in between, silently noting it all in his brain to help build the profiles of his fellow Team Six members. Suddenly, his people-watching was interrupted by a pair of hands that covered his eyes gently. The American smirked as he knew who the hands belonged to immediately, "hello, Craig." He said calmly. 

The hands moved off his face with a groan, "man, you always know it's me. I give up." Craig whined as he sat down beside the other man. 

"That's because you do it almost every time you sneak up on me. So who else would it be but you? Mix it up next time." The Bostonian teased the younger man. 

Craig scoffed and shook his head, "alright Erik, you got me there. I'll try better next time." He said, grabbing the other man and pulling him up beside him. He threw his arm around the blond and set his legs into a comfortable position as he sat on the bench facing outward. 

Erik settled in beside him and leaned back into the younger man's chest. Despite them being the same height, Craig always insisted on being the big spoon when they sat together. Erik was just fine with that. 

"Sooo, do you have a mission tomorrow?" Craig asked nonchalantly. 

Erik shook his head, "no, I'm staying here. Why, do you want to do something?" 

Craig pulled the other man closer to him and shrugged, "maybe. Maybe not." He grinned deviously as the blond rolled his eyes. 

Erik gently gripped Craig's beard and gave it a small tug as a warning, "what are you planning, Blackbeard?" He pressed, stating his lover's codename in a mocking tone. 

Craig sucked in a breath while he pulled the other's hand away from his precious facial hair, "ah--okay, okay, stop! I was just asking because I want to do an afternoon with you and Adri." The other American explained, turning around to sit properly on the table bench. 

Erik did the same as he hummed in response and nodded, "I would like that. And you know Adriano, he's fine with everything." 

As soon as Erik finished his sentence, two large hands clapped down on each of the mens' shoulders, "Adriano is fine with everything, ah?" A deep voice repeated. The two Americans jumped slightly and turned their heads to see Adriano himself towering above them. The Italian grinned as he waited for a response. 

"Adri! Jesus, you're good at sneaking up on us." Craig said with a shake of his head.

"Almost too good." Erik added. 

Adriano let out a hardy laugh as he took his hands off the two men, "good! It will keep you on your toes then." He responded with a wink. "Now, what is it you were talking about, hm?" 

"Do you have a mission tomorrow? I want to do an afternoon with the boys; just the three of us." Craig explained to the taller man. 

Adriano rubbed his facial hair in thought, "It seems you're in luck; I don't have a mission tomorrow." He smiled brightly which then turned into a grin, "What would you like to do, my little devils?" He asked affectionately as he inserted himself between the Americans, throwing his arms around their necks. 

Erik scoffed as a bashful expression crept onto his face. Craig let out a bubbly chuckle in response to the nickname, "You know, I didn't get that far in the plan." 

"Of course you didn't." Erik rolled his eyes at his lover. 

"What're you trying to say?" Craig pouted. 

Adriano pulled on their ears before the two got into it any further, "boys, boys, no fighting. It's not healthy for you. I can decide what we will do so Craig doesn't use up all his brain power today--" 

"Why does everyone insist on picking on me today?" 

"--so how about we go to a pub, play some pool, and drink until we can no longer stand, eh? You like?" The Italian look back and forth at his partners with a happy smile. 

Erik nodded, "Yes, I like." 

Craig grinned, "you know I'm always up for drinks. So yeah, I like!" 

"Good! How about we meet here by twenty-one hundred hours tomorrow." Adriano said more as a statement than a question. His two other partners nodded in agreement. "Eccellente! Now, if you excuse me--" he gave each American a big kiss on the cheek before standing up "--I have some things to take care of now. See you boys tomorrow." He winked at them and headed off down the hall. 

\--------- 

The next day, Maverick was ready for the pub an hour before the three planned to meet up. He sat on his bed tapping his foot nervously. 'Why are you so antsy, Erik, stop it. You've gone out together plenty of times already, what's the problem?' He mentally attacked himself. To clear his mind, the American took in a deep breath and rubbed his eyes with his hands while standing up. Even so, his nervousness was still there. 

Doing his best to ignore it, Erik took one more look at himself in the mirror to check if he was satisfied with his outfit. He chose a dark blue dres shirt with a dark grey tie, complete with dress pants of the same shade of grey and black shoes. He wanted to look nice for his partners and hoped it would be enough to catch their attention indefinitely. 

Maverick heard two loud knocks on his door before it blasted open without his answering to come in. On the other side was of course Blackbeard who already had a mischievous grin on his face, "You ready to tear up the town, Erik? I've showered, got dressed, and jerked off--not neccesarily in that order--and I am set to go!" He exclaimed to his partner. The other American was wearing an olive green dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a loose black tie around his neck. He also decided to wear dark blue jeans instead of dress pants and dark brown boots. Maverick thought the jeans looked horrible with his green shirt but he knew jeans were much more Craig's style so he didn't criticize. 

Erik gave Blackbeard a look mixed of disgust and annoyance, "what a classy thing for you to say." 

"I know, I'm just brimming with class." Craig replied, striking a pose and flexing his arms. Erik approached him and purposely jabbed at his foot to throw him off balance, causing other American to stumble over. He shifted his weight so he would fall toward Maverick and as he did, the blond was forced backward, causing him to fall back onto the bed behind him. Craig followed after and caught himself by putting a hand on the mattress by either side of Erik's head. 

"Whoops, I slipped." Craig purred as he hovered his face over Erik's. Erik scoffed and began to blush as he pushed the laughing Craig off of him. The two grabbed their jackets and headed out into the messhall to wait for Adriano. 

The Italian was already sitting at one of the benches, all dressed up as he normally was. Unlike Craig, and even more so than Erik, Adriano loved to dress in nice clothes that perfectly displayed his toned body. The black dress shirt's sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, like Craig, and he purposefully left the two buttons close to his neck undone to expose part of his burly chest. He put a dark grey waistcoat over his shirt with a red tie tucked into it. He decided black pants and shoes completed the dark and suave look he was going for. 

As the other two partners approached, Maestro stood up and opened up his arms, "ahh, look at my two boys! As handsome as ever!" He pulled the two into his chest and gave them swift kisses on the top of their heads. The two hugged back then took a step away. 

"I could say the same about you, Adri, god damn." Craig replied, practically drooling already. Maverick was also giving Maestro some intense stares as he stood by his fellow American. Adriano laughed and patted Craig's shoulder, "down boy, there's no time for that now. Come, let's drink!" 

\-------------------

The three men head off to their favorite pub with the intent to drink as much as they could handle. Craig started off with simple bottle of beer, taking a swig and joining Adriano and Erik at the pool table in the back of the building. Adriano had a glass of whiskey sitting on the edge of the pool table as he prepared three cue sticks, "just a beer, Craig? I thought you were better than that." He teased his boyfriend. 

"You're right, I am, but I want to stay somewhat sober for now so I can kick your asses at pool." Craig reponded, winking at Adriano. 

Adriano laughed and handed the American a cue. Erik was drinking a martini behind Maestro as he approached to pick up his own cue, "You may be able to beat Adriano, but can you beat me, Craig?" 

The American scoffed, "damn right I can, just you watch." He stretched his arms and pointed at Erik in an intimidating manner. Erik only smirked. 

The three began their game of pool, with Adriano taking the lead right off the bat. However, Erik eventually caught up and easy surpassed the Italian by the middle of the game. Meanwhile, poor Craig was barely making his shots while sitting in last place. 

Once all the balls were sunk, Craig let out a sas groan, "come on, man, this sucks. Why am I so bad?" He pouted and took a drink from what was now his fourth beer. 

Erik shrugged, "sorry my love, better luck next time." 

Craig grumbled and waved his beer bottle at Erik in a mocking way before finally finishing it off. Adriano watched his lover with a smile as he took a drink of his own alcohol, "perhaps I can teach you a few things for next time. Would you like that?" 

Craig's face lit up with excitement, like a child on his birthday, "hell yes! Teach me!" 

"Alright then, come here." Maestro grabbed the American's arm and pulled him over so he was standing in front of him, his back to the Italian's chest. He handed Craig the cue and rested his chin on the other man's shoulder, "you have a good hand position on the table here but your other hand is in terrible form. Move it further back and grip it like so." The Italian gently intertwined his fingers with Craig's and slid it to a better spot on the cue. 

Craig grinned at Maestro's flirty teaching, "right here? Alright, what next?" 

"Keep your eyes on the spot where you want to hit the cue ball. This will help better guide your strike when you are ready." Adriano explained, moving his mouth close to Blackbeard's ear. 

What was flirty at first was now starting to make Craig lose his focus as Adriano breathed close to his ear. The American cleared his throat and finally spoke, "look where I want to shoot, got it. Uh, so should I just shoot now?" 

"Should you?" Maestro echoed, now nibbling on his lover's ear. 

Craig clenched his jaw as he continued to try and keep his composure, "f-fuck, I don't know man." 

Erik chuckled as he watched from his seat by the pool table, "Adriano, let the poor man go, he's about to fall apart at the seams." 

Adriano hummed and slowly stepped away from Craig, "alright, fine, I'm done teasing you then." He grinned devilishly at his partner. 

Craig took in a deep breath and shook his head to clear away the naughty thoughts that were beginning to creep into his mind, "Jesus, we're in public, you can't do that to me." He whined. 

Adriano laughed, "sorry, sorry." He finished off his drink and wiped his mouth, "alright, enough of these weak drinks now, let's get to the good stuff, eh? I can still see straight and that's no good." 

"Fine by me." Craig replied as he headed to the bar to order more alcohol. 

\------

Time passed, the moon began to rise higher in the sky, and bottles began to collect in their little corner by the pool table. 

Maverick was currently on Craig's lap, barely keeping himself balanced as he peppered the other American's face with kisses, "it's infuriating how attractive you are, you know that, right?" Maverick mumbled to his boyfriend. 

Craig gave him a toothy grin, "I know, it's a gift. Right, Adri?" 

Adriano was currently trying--and failing miserably--to create a pyramid of the bottles on the pool table. 

"Adri?" Craig echoed. 

"Ah? Oh, your looks? Hmm, I would say you're a seven out of ten." The Italian answered passively as he kept his attention on the bottles, despite Craig's auditory fuss from the corner. The pyramid eventually toppled after Maestro's swaying hand knocked into it and sent the glass bottles tumbling to the floor. "Ahhhh, dammit!" Maestro slammed his fist down on the pool table. 

A figure then approached the three men and cleared his throat loudly, "hey guys, I'm sorry to interrupt your...whatever this is, but I have to close in ten minutes, so it's best to start for home." The bar tender glanced down at the bottles and raised an eyebrow, "just make sure to clean those up beforehand." 

The three men groaned in disappointment of being kicked out but picked the bottles up nonetheless. After they were finished, Craig playfully jumped on Maestro's shoulders, "I'm way too fuckin' tired to walk home. You carry me. Pleasseee?" He made a puppy face at his lover. 

The Italian grumbled then positioned Craig comfortably on his back, "fine, but this is the only time." 

"Because I get to the next time." Erik chimed in. 

The three men left the pub and made rhe trek back to the base. By the time they arrived, Craig was fast asleep on Adriano's back and Erik was barely keeping his eyes open. Adriano chuckled at the two of them, "aw, look at you both. Like tired little children. Alright, let's go to bed then." 

The Italian guided Maverick toward his room and set Blackbeard down on the bed as he went to change his clothes. Erik dove next to the other American, cuddling up to him as he instantly began to fall asleep. When Maestro came back, the two were already snoring together. He chuckled, crawled into the bed with them and wormed his way between them so their heads rested on his chest. He wrapped his arms around them, kissed the top of their heads and felt sleep drag him under as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next will either be some Bandit/Blitz or some Jackal/Mozzie, I haven't decided yet ;)


	3. Bandit/Blitz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something strange is happening on Hereford Base...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since Halloween is around the corner, I decided to make this chapter a little spOOooky.
> 
> Shoutout to Hetsez for giving me the chapter prompt <3 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

The dark hallway loomed before Mozzie as he made he way back toward his bedroom. His eyelids were drooping almost completely shut from how tired he was, making it hard for the Aussie to walk in a straight line. The almost pitch blackness of the hallway was also not helping his fumbling. However, the ginger eventually made it to his room, somehow without falling over, and flopped down onto his bed. 

The petite man let out a heavy sigh of relief as he relaxed his head onto the pillow. He felt his eyes slip closed like cement setting into place, and the comforting allure of sleep began to drag him under. 

Sleep didn't take Mozzie for very long, however, as a pair of hands grabbed onto his shoulder and flipped him over onto his back. The Aussie jerked up into a sitting position in response, trying to get a glimpse of his supposed attacker. The room was so dark all he could make out was a lumbering shape that hovered over him. It was crouched on the bed and staring right at him. 

The ginger froze in response, primal fear beginning to creep through his veins. The shape snarled and lunged from him, its hands aiming for his throat. Mozzie let out a scream of terror, putting his arms out in front of him in attempt to block whatever this creature was. 

But the attack never came. When Max opened his eyes and scanned the room he found that his door was open and the lumbering shape was gone. The Aussie clutched at his shirt and tried to control his ragged breaths, his mind racing over what the hell just happened. 

As he did, he heard footsteps running down the hall toward his bedroom. In the doorway appeared Blitz and Jackal. Jackal ran in first, practically jumping onto the ginger's bed, "Max! Mi amor, are you alright?" 

"We heard a god awful scream." Blitz added behind the Spaniard. 

Mozzie swallowed and frantically nodded, "y-yeah I'm alright but, fuck, something was just in hear. It tried to fucking attack me!" 

"What? Attack you?" Jackal asked worriedly. 

"What do you mean 'tried', it just...stopped?" Blitz inquired. 

Mozzie nodded yeah, "yeah, I don't know the hell why, but it jumped on my bed, spun me around so I was lookin' at it, then went to pounce on me. I screamed cause I thought it was the end for poor ole' Maxwell here, but instead it just left." the Australian explained, trailing off at the end of his story. 

Blitz raised an eyebrow and put his hands on his hips as he looked around the room, "that's so strange." 

Jackal lifted Mozzie's shirt, checking his chest then his neck and arms, "you're right, there's no scratched, bites, or blood to be seen. I'm glad you're alright." The Spaniard smiled warmly and kissed the Aussie's head and ruffled his hair. 

Max waved Jackal's hand away, "yeah, me too." He grinned before his face fell into that of a look of horror, "but that thing. It's still out there, ran off to God know's fuckin' where--we need to find it!" 

"Mozzie, I--" Blitz sighed, "are you sure it was real? What if was just a very vivid nightmare?" 

"Wait, you're saying you don't believe me? Come on mate, don't shit on me like this! There was no way it was a dream, everything felt too real." Mozzie cried. 

The German shrugged, "dreams can feel pretty real sometimes." He sighed again and shook his head, "Look, I'm sorry, but I don't want to stir up a manhunt for this thing if it turns out it wasn't even real. We're all too busy to waste such valuable time." 

"Perhaps he's right, Mozzie." Jackal added, giving his partner a sympathetic look. 

The Australian stared at the two in disbelief, "but I--there's just no way. Come on, please!" 

Jackal looked over at the German, "go ahead back to your room, I will stay with him tonight to help calm him." 

"I'm not a fuckin' child, Ryad..." Mozzie growled. 

Blitz nodded, "alright, guten Nacht then." 

\------------- 

The night continued on without another incident and by morning, Mozzie was seriously debating if what happened was real or not. Something was telling him it was, but if so then why was he not attacked? Why would the creature just stop? It didn't add up to him. Reguardless, he and Jackal joined everyone in the messhall for breakfast. 

Once he got his food, he sat at a table with Jackal that also had the Russians and Frenchman already seated. Some chuckles came from the Russians as Mozzie dug into his oatmeal, "did the big bad wolf come back to chew on you last night, Goose?" Tachanka called over to the Aussie, making Kapkan and Fuze bust out laughing. 

Mozzie furrowed his brows at them and swallowed, "the fuck is that supposed to mean?" 

"A little birdie told us you had a little episode last night. Something about a beast wanting to eat you alive." Tachanka replied, scoffing at the end. 

"It was just a dream, my friend. You're perfectly safe in this base." Kapkan added. 

Max rolled his eyes and shook his head, "whatever. Just forget it." 

Meanwhile, Blitz was listening from the table behind where Mozzie was sitting. He elbowed Jäger sitting next to him who was in the middle of happily munching on his apple. He grunted and almost spit out the fruit he had in his mouth, "Ow! Hey! What the hell was that for?" He whined. 

"You told the others about Mozzie's nightmare? I thought we agreed not to?" Blitz scolded his best friend. 

"I'm sorry Blitz, it was just too good not to tell anyone. Real or not, it makes for a good story." The fellow German explained. 

"He just can't help himself, can he?" Bandit joined in, staring intensely at the blond. 

"Like YOU wouldn't do the same thing, Bandit. You really have no room to talk." Jäger barked. 

Bandit twitched an eyebrow at Jäger, which was a sign to Blitz that his boyfriend was getting angry. He cleared his throat to break the little argument, "alright, enough you two. It doesn't matter now, what's done is done. Just don't drag it on, alright? No teasing him about it." 

"Tell that to the Russians, not us." Bandit said, jerking his chin in the Spetznaz's direction. 

Blitz sighed, "If only. Even I can't tell the Russians what to." 

The day continued on and luckily not much else was said about Mozzie and his supposed encounter with a beast the night before. Bandit and Blitz were in Bandit's room late that afternoon without any particular plans. 

"You're over-thinking this, Elias. There's no beast, it's rediculous." Bandit assured his lover. 

Blitz shook his head, "I don't know what to think. I want to believe him, but..." he trailed off. 

"Then don't think anything. Just pay attention to me instead. I'm more important." Bandit replied, wrapping his arms around Blitz from behind. He bit on the other German's neck in a playful manner, causing Blitz to jump slightly. 

"Ah, hey! Stop that!" He turned around in Bandit's arms and covered his mouth. "No need to bite, I'm paying plenty of attention to you." He smiled, leaning in to press his lips to the other man's. "But you really aren't worried about there potentially being some animal around base?" 

Bandit huffed, "no Blitz, I'm not worried. Now enough about that." 

"Alright, alright, I'll stop." The two stayed in Bandit's room until the sun disappeared behind the horizon and the moon showed its pale face once again. Blitz said goodnight to his boyfriend and returned to his own room. 

Blitz crawled into bed, his thoughts once again transitioning to what happened to Mozzie. Should he really be vigilant for some beast-thing roaming the base? He shook his head and threw the sheets over his head. 'Don't be rediculous', he thought to himself as he felt himself fall into the abyss of sleep. 

In the middle of the night, the German woke up to the urge to pee and swiftly made his way to the washrooms. He did his business and began his short walk back to his room when he noticed a shape darting around the corner at the end of the hall. He stopped, blinked, and furrowed his brows. What is just some shadow from outside? Blitz looked around to see that there were no windows down at that end of the hall with any sort of tree or other shape to cast such a shadow. 

So he continued his way to the end of the hall where the shadow supposedly was and looked down the next hallway. Nothing was there. The German scratched his chin curiously and shrugged, making his way back to his room. Just as he was crawling into his bed, a blood curdling scream echoed through the halls. His blue eyes shot open, instantly alert to whatever was happening. 

Blitz threw off the sheets and took off into the hallway, trying to decipher which way the scream came from. He thought it came from the right and bolted off in that direction. He saw that others were woken up by the scream just as they were last night but this time even more operators had opened their doors than before. 

He noticed one door was open but no one was standing out side of it and went to investigate. It was one of the Spetznaz rooms with Kapkan and Glaz. Glaz was sitting beside Kapkan on the bed, listening to whatever Kapkan was saying. Kapkan looked visibly tense as he rubbed his hands nervously up and down his thighs. Glaz looked up as Blitz approached, "I'm starting to think that Mozzie was telling some sort of truth yesterday." 

"Are you trying to say that Kapkan saw it too?" Blitz asked. 

"Yes I did. It was huge, it grabbed my throat before I could react in time. But then it let go and decided to cut my fucking arm before disappearing." Kapkan explained, clenching his jaw. 

Blitz glanced down to see that blood was indeed trickling down his upper arm. Glaz put his hand up against it to create some pressure, "let's get Doc to patch this up for you then." 

"No, I'm fine." Kapkan replied stubbornly. 

Glaz sighed in frustration and looked back to Blitz, "he'll be alright, just shaken up, whether he admits it or not. But I do think we need to start doing something about this. Clearly something, or someone is playing some nasty tricks on us. Who knows who will be next." 

Jackal and Mozzie busted into the room once Glaz was finished. Mozzie looked at the frightened Kapkan, "see, I told you! Something's here, something's out to fuckin' get us in this God forsaken base!" 

"Mozzie, please calm down." Jackal pleaded. 

"No, I'm telling you, it will only get worse from here. It's drawn first blood and now it'll want more." Mozzie explained, pointing at Kapkan's wound as he took a frightened step backwards. 

"Oh please, listen to yourself. It's most likely some wild animal that got into the base and is getting into our rooms. Or it's one of the operators playing pranks." Glaz tried to rationalize the situation. 

"Who would fucking cut someone as a prank? And try to strangle me?" Mozzie retaliated, his voice getting louder with each question. 

"It tried to strangle me too." Kapkan added. The room fell deadly quiet as everyone went over their own thoughts. 

Blitz cleared his throat to pull everyone's attention, "I will let Six know what the situation is. Then we can check for signs of an animal tomorrow. Alright? Does that sound good?" 

"Yes, that will work." Glaz chimed in. 

"Shouldn't we look for the beast tonight? Why wait until tomorrow?" Mozzie asked, his voice quivering. 

"It ran off, or was scared off, hunting it now would be fruitless. It would be on guard and ready to run as soon as it got the smallest hint we were getting close to it." Kapkan explained, glancing down at the blood on his hand. Glaz nodded in agreement next to his boyfriend. 

Mozzie huffed, "fuckin' hell, alright then, clearly you're the hunting expert here." 

Kapkan's eyebrow twitched upward as he stood and headed into the bathroom, presumably to clean his wound.

As Blitz exited the room with the others, Bandit appeared in the hallway. He looked half awake, clearly stirred from a deep sleep, "why are you all out here?" He asked slowly. 

"Kapkan was attacked. He got a wound on his arm; it was bleeding." Blitz explained. 

Bandit furrowed his brows, his expression changing from foggy confusion to irritation, "you seriously believe a beast did that? Elias, I told you, this whole beast thing is bullshit." 

"I know, I know, but--I mean, Kapkan experienced almost the exact same thing as Mozzie. Being strangled, but only for a quick moment before running away. But this time he was cut." 

The other German rolled his eyes, "fine, believe your fairytales then. I'm going back to bed." Blitz watched his partner shuffle his way back into his room. As he watched him go, he wondered how Kapkan's scream didn't wake him. The GSG9 section was right by the Spetznaz, the scream would have been loud enough to hear. 

Even Jackal and Mozzie heard it and came running, and their room was closer to the GIGN unit than Spetznaz. 'Was he pretending to be barely awake? If so, then why?' Blitz thought to himself. Not sure what else to do, the German, along with the others, returned to their beds. But no one got proper sleep after that. Their heads were now filled with anxious thoughts of this supposed beast many believed to be roaming around the base. Who will it target next? They thought to themselves. It drew blood tonight. Will it want more? 

\------------- 

Blitz exited Six's office the following morning, his head held low as he watched the ground at his feet. The German clenched his jaw and returned to his room shared with Jäger. The other man was currently look over his device on his bed, mumbling to himself about this and that. As Blitz entered, he raised his head, "ah, Blitz, you're back! So what did Six say?" 

"Something doesn't feel right." Blitz stated suddenly. 

Jäger blinked, "I'm sorry? What does this have to do with Six?" 

"Nothing, I'm talking about the beast." Blitz replied. 

"We are going to hunt it today, right? I don't think I can stand another night knowing that thing is out there, waiting to get us." The blond shivered and returned his Magpie device to its rightful place. 

"Why wouldn't it attack us today?" Blitz asked. 

"What?" 

"Why doesn't it attacked during the day?" Blitz rephrased the question. 

The blond blinked, "Because it's a night hunter? Nocturnal, is the word. It's not strange that it hunts in the dark, Elias." Jäger explained, not understand where his friend was going with all this. 

Blitz shook his head, "no, not because it nocturnal. Because it's harder for US to see things at night. It uses the shadows and low lighting, since all of our lights are off, to hide itself." 

"And this means...what, exactly?" Jäger slowly asked. 

The other German sighed, "it means that it's most likely not a beast at all. It's human. It's one of us." Before Jäger could retort, Blitz continued, "Glaz wasn't entirely sold on this being a creature either. Last night he mentioned that it could all be a prank by one of us and I believe he's right." 

Jäger shook his head, "no, it can't be, both Mozzie and Kapkan said it was large--" 

"Sledge is large. So is Kaid, and Jackal, and Lion. Plus it choked them. Why would an animal choke someone? They use their teeth. Plus they aren't dead; an animal hunts to kill." 

Jäger crossed his arms and sighed, "alright, fine, it does sound more suspicious now. So, what, do you want to try and set a trap to catch them tonight? How would we even predict who the person would go for?" 

"I'm not sure." Blitz admitted. "Maybe we don't need to know, what if instead we set up guards at every corner. See if anyone wants to volunteer and keep watch for the night. Other than you and me, of course." 

"Wait, what? Why do I have to?" The other German whined. 

"Because you're my best friend and you care about me, right? So you would be willing to do an all-nighter with me." Blitz smiled mischievously. 

Jäger huffed, "fine, but you're also giving me your dessert for a whole week after this." 

"Deal." 

\--------------- 

That night at curfew, Blitz, Jäger, Rook, and Blackbeard gathered to discuss the plan that Blitz had in mind. The German posted them each at their own corners that were all in view of each other so they could yell to each other if needed. 

He told the men to grab chairs to sit in for short lengths to relax their legs but not to sit too long that they would begin to fall asleep. Kapkan and Mozzie were attacked at two different times, so Blitz didn't know when exactly the "beast" would show up. 

Blitz was still convinced it was actually a person but the others weren't completely agreeing with him, so he compromised them carrying sidearms with large hunting knives instead. "Do NOT use it unless you are absolutely, positively, sure that this thing is going to kill you or someone else. If this is a person, I don't want Doc to have to perform emergency surgery on some poor operator we stabbed." The others nodded and sheathed the blades. 

Now placed in their assigned positions by Blitz, the four men began their night if watching. They had the lights off as usual to help hide themselves but Blitz told them to carry flashlights to use if necessary. Jäger sighed and scuffed his feet on the floor, playing with the clasp on his knife holster. Rook stood still with his hands behind his back, intently watching each hallway in his view. Blackbeard scratched at his beard and picked at his teeth, trying to keep himself from completely spacing out. 

Jäger was busy studying a strange little stain on one of the floor tiles as he noticed something move out of the corner of his eye. The German lifted his head and swore he saw one of the doors in the GIGN area drift closed. He straightened and made a quiet whistle to get the others' attention. Blackbeard stood from his chair and looked to Jäger with an inquisitive look. Rook got Blitz's attention and the two of them made their way quietly toward Jäger. 

The German quietly pointed toward the door he thought he saw close and the four of them gathered around it. Blitz glanced around at his fellow operators then swiftly opened the door and turned on the light switch. 

"Stop!" Rooked yelled into the small room. Two operators jumped and sat up quickly in their beds with small cries of surprise. In the bed were Doc and Montagne and no monster to be seen. 

"What the hell are you doing?" Doc growled, his eyes fighting to adjust to the sudden brightness. 

Blackbeard ran in and quickly searched the room with Rook in tow, "there's nothing here." He reported. 

"Did you losing something in here? Like your respect for your fellow operators?" Monty growled, clearly unhappy about the sudden wakeup. 

Jäger shook his head, "No, I just--I thought I saw this door closing. I thought the beast had gotten in and--" 

"The beast? You are all still on about that stupid rumor? Oh please, you're all grown men. Get over these campfire stories." Doc scolded them. "There is no beast, those two fools that say they got attacked just happened to have horrible nightmares one night after another. That's it." 

"Then what about Kapkan's wound, hm?" Blackbeard challenged. 

Doc scoffed, "It was barely a wound. Could have scratched himself in his sleep, hit something before he went to bed and didn't notice--anything." 

"Fine, whatever, believe what you want, Gustave. Sorry for disturbing you guys." Blackbeard replied as the group left the room. 

"I'm sorry Blitz, I really thought I saw something." Jäger frowned. 

"It's alright, let's just get back to our posts before--" 

Before Blitz could finish, the group heard a cry from around the corner. This time it was coming from one of the girls' rooms. The group draw their blades and bolt to the source of the cry, preparing themselves to see even more blood than last time. 

They came across an open door and burst in, turning on the light switch. The four men froze as they witnessed a large looming shape leaning over the edge of one of the beds. Ash sat frozen in her bed, her eyes never leaving the massive thing before her. With the light now on, she could see a wooden face of some creature she couldn't match to anything she knew. Its body was draped in a dense fur, and it's arms and legs were black like tar. 

It slowly turned it's head to look at the four men, it's gaze piercing right into them. Jäger dropped his knife in sheer terror while the rest of them simply stood there. That is, all except for Blitz who slowly put his knife away. 

Rook watched his German friend nervously, "Blitz, what're you doing?" 

Blitz ignored the Frenchman and slowly took a step toward the beast. It swung it's full weight around to face him head-on, growling as it moved. Blitz stopped for a moment then took another step toward it. The beast watched him almost curiously with it's large white eyes but didn't lower it's guard for a second. 

The German continued to move forward until he with within a foot of the creature. He tilted his head curiously, which the beast mimicked. Suddenly, he jumped the creature and pulled out his knife once again, holding it to it's throat. The thing whined and grabbed the man's arms in a feable attempt to free itself. 

Blitz shook his head slowly, "Now, now, drop the little act you're putting on, Dominic." He grabbed the mask and tore it off to reveal the grinning face of his boyfriend. Blitz leaned down and pressed his lips against the other man's. 

"Bandit? It was Bandit!?" Jäger chirped. 

Blitz got off of Bandit and helped him up, "I knew it." 

"But why?" Jäger asked. 

Bandit shrugged, "it's boring as hell around here. You never do anything." 

"So you decided to scare the shit out of us in some costume? How is that entertainment?" Blackbeard barked. 

"It's entertaining to me. No one said it had to be entertaining to you." Bandit retorted. 

Blitz put his hands up and stepped in between the two men, "Alright, that's enough. The good news is we don't have a beast problem anymore. Right?" He threw a warning glance at Bandit. 

Bandit sighed, "yes, right, I'll stop." 

Blitz smiled and threw an arm around his partner, pulling him close, "never change, Dominic." 

"I don't plan to."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up will either be Jackal/Mozzie or maybe something else ;)


	4. Doc/Lion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lion just won't leave Doc alone today...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jackal/Mozzie will have to wait because my brain was fixed on writing Doc/Lion instead xD 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

"Gustave?"

"Yes, Olivier, what is it?"

"You're a dick."

"Yes, I'm aware, anything else?"

"You're also an ass."

"How original. Are you done now?"

There was no response.

"Good, then let me work."

The two Frenchmen were currently in Doc's office on a slow afternoon at Hereford Base. Lion was being exceptionally childish today and Doc had too much paperwork to do instead of babysitting his currently moody lover.

Lion huffed and walked over to Doc's desk, grabbing the spare chair beside it and slumping down into it. Doc threw a glance at him but returned to his work regardless. Unsatisfied by the reaction, Olivier leaned back and put his feet up on the corner of his desk very close to Doc's completed work.

Gustave froze and slowly lifted his head while his gaze locked onto the papers. Lion smirked to himself. He found his weakness. The tall Frenchman slowly lifted one leg and swung it over to cross the other leg. Lion watched Doc twitch in reaction, most likely thinking Lion was about to rest his foot on the precious documents.

Doc flicked his gaze up to Olivier's eyes, "you think this is funny, do you?"

"Very much, yes." Lion purred.

"Well it isn't." Gustave spat back, standing swiftly and leaning over to grab the stack of papers and move it to the other side of the desk. He turned back and shoved Lion's feet to make them fall off the desk, "keep your feet off the desk or I will--"

"You'll what?" The younger man arrogantly interrupted, the grin never leaving his face.

Doc closed his eyes momentarily and opened them again to glare daggers at his partner. Lion knew that look all too well. Doc closed and opened his eyes like that when he was attempting to hold back his temper. But Lion decided right then that he wanted to be a menace to his hard-working partner and light the fuze to the dynamite.

"An empty threat as always, Gustave. You never change." Lion said, tisking at the other man. Doc sighed, shook his head, and continued to read the paper in front of him.

Lion watched, disappointment crawling onto his face. He then got up and went over to the medicine cabinet where all the drugs and medical liquids were kept. The younger man studied the wide array of viles and bottles through the glass doors before deciding to open it for a closer look.

Meanwhile, Doc heard the fimilar squeak of the cabinet door opening and instantly spun his chair around, "what do you think you're doing?" He growled.

Lion shrugged, not turning to look at his partner, "just browsing the medical supply. I've never even heard of half of these. Like this one; what is this used for?" He asked, mainly to himself, while pulling out a large blue pill container.

"It's an anti-inflammatory, now put it down." Doc snapped, the frustration growing more apparent in his voice.

"There's more than one type of anti-inflammatory? That's needlessly complicated." The Frenchman replied, practically tossing the pills back into the cabinet and already grabbing for another.

Gustave pinched the bridge of his nose, "Yes there is, now will you stop touching everything and close the cabinet?"

Instead of doing so, Lion ignored his partner's request and dug into the very back of the cabinet to pull out a bottle of liquid that caught his eye. He read the medical gibberish on the label and hummed to himself, "whatever this means."

"Olivier, I'm serious. You're going to break--" Doc was forced to watch as Lion purposely let the glass bottle slip from his hand and crash to the ground. The bottle shattered, releasing the light green liquid into a small puddle on the floor.

Lion instantly backed away from the spill as the strong scent of the mystery liquid invaded his nostrils. "Eugh, that smells horrid!" He whined, covering his nose with his sleeve. He looked over at his partner to see his reaction to the situation.

The doctor slowly got up from his chair, walked over to the spill, stared down at it, and didn't say a word. Apparently the smell didn't bother him because he knelt down to assess the scale of the puddle and all the scattered glass.

Lion raised an eyebrow while watching the other man, "I hope nobody ends up needing whatever that shit was any time soon." The Frenchman said nothing more as he watched his partner turn around slowly and face him. His eyes were dark and overflowing with rage. A small part of Lion actually feared this look in Doc's eyes. He had never seen him so mad. The voice in his head told him that he had gone too far this time but he ignored it.

Doc pointed aggressively at the sink and cabinet that stood beside it at the back of the room, "go to the cabinet. Get a cloth and the broom. Clean this up. Now."

Lion's heart skipped a beat. He should feel ashamed or upset or something but instead, hearing the Doctor instruct him so strictly had slightly aroused him. As he stepped over to the cabinet he debated pushing his partner even further. What would Doc do when he got to his limit? Would he yell at him and push him out of the room? Ignore him for the rest of the day? Or would he react in more sexual way as he learned Lion's little game?

Lion grabbed the broom resting beside the cabinet and took a cloth from one of the shelves, hanging it over his shoulder. He glanced over to see Doc grab a box of gloves and slam it down on his desk. He pointed to it gruffly to silently instruct Lion to put them on to protect his hands from the liquid. Lion did as such then leaned down and kissed Doc on the cheek, "thanks, love." Doc growled and leaned his head away, making Lion chuckle.

The taller Frenchmen cleaned up the glass that was not mixed in the pool of liquid then used the cloth to soak up the medicine while leaving the glass bit behind. Afterward he cleaned up the remaining glass and threw it away with the rest. He took off his gloves and pitched them as well before turning around to see what his partner was up to now.

Doc had fallen completely into his work, his eyes flicking between the papers and the computer screen while his fingers worked tirelessly on the keyboard. Lion decided he wasn't done messing with the shorter man and slowly crept up behind him.

He grabbed the back of the computer chair and used all his might to tear Gustave away from the desk. He dragged him as far as he could from his work as Doc hissed and attempted to grab at the desk. "What the hell are you doing? Stop this right now, Olivier!" He stood up from the chair and turned around to face Lion.

Lion laughed, letting go of the chair. He pushed it back into the corner and blocked it from Gustave. Doc stared hard up at his partner, "what the fuck do you want from me? Why are you being like this?" Doc snarled.

Lion smirked, feeling his heart skip again. "You're ignoring me, that's why, idiot."

"I'm--!" Doc scoffed, not able to finish his sentence as his rage continued to build. He stormed up to Lion and grabbed him by his collar. Lion sniggered, purposely leaning down slightly so Doc could get a better grip. "You have been an absolute ass for the last half hour and you wonder WHY I'm ignoring you?!"

Lion nodded, playing along with Doc's little fit of rage. "Yes, honestly, I do wonder."

Doc snarled, tightening his grip more and suddenly yanking his lover down to be level with him. He pulled Lion forward, crashing his lips against the other's. He pulled him forward so aggressively that their teeth knocked together at the impact, but Doc ignored the pain, as did Lion.

Lion reacted immediately, wrapping his arms around the smaller man, pulling him up against his chest. He stepped backward until he felt the chair behind him and sat down to pull Doc onto his lap. Doc pulled away and huffed, "I should have known this is what you wanted. When are you not horny?" Doc criticized.

Lion grinned, "after we fu--"

Doc covered his mouth, "yes, thank you, I'm aware, it was a rhetorical question." He cut off his boyfriend, a blush growing on his face.

Lion removed Gustave's hand and laughed, gently kissing the back of it. He glanced at Doc's computer then back at his lover, "so what about the paperwork you have to do?"

Doc glanced over his shoulder then sighed, "well," he shrugged, "it can wait." He leaned forward, connecting his lips with Olivier's again.


	5. Kap/Glaz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kapkan wanted to make this New Years Eve extra special for Glaz.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, everyone! Happy new year!!   
I know I'm a little late to the party, but I wanted to get another chapter up to let you know I wasn't dead and didn't forget about this collection I'm working on.   
I was going to do a Christmas story with these boys but time got away from me and it didn't happen :(   
So here is a little New Years story instead!

The Russian couldn't help but to nervously tap his foot while he stood in front of the glass. He gaze was fixed on a simple-looking gold chain necklace displayed among the many other random objects found in the window. To the average viewer the necklace didn't seem like much; slightly bent up in tiny places, not quite as shiny as a brand new gold chain would be, and the clasp appeared to be broken as it didn't completely close as it should. 

However, this Russian knew there was much more to the chain than one would think. Through extensive research, helpful locals, and some divine intervention or random stroke of luck, the Russian hunter tracked down the necklace of his lover's great grandmother to this antique store, now sitting only two feet away from him. 

New Years wasn't normally a holiday for gifts. It's traditionally met with celebration, drinking, and reflecting on the year before. However, this year Kapkan wanted to start on a more memorable note than just hot midnight sex with his boyfriend. 

The hunter finally entered the small shop and approached the old woman manning the checkout counter. She offered him a warm smile and let him speak: "I'd like to buy that gold necklace in the window there." He fished for his wallet with one hand and pointed toward the necklace with the other. 

The woman nodded, "what a lovely choice. Just a moment then." She shuffled over, moved aside rusting tins, old bikes, and withered toys to finally reach the golden chain. She gently picked it up with one hand and made her way back to Kapkan who was patiently waiting, money in hand. 

"I have a feeling there's a reason you chose this necklace." The old woman stated as she placed the piece of jewlery into a small leather pouch. 

"Yes, you're right. It's an heirloom of my significant other. I tracked it down and plan to give it to him for New Years." Kapkan exlained. 

The woman hummed in response and slowly pushed the pouch toward the Russian, "then take it. It rightfully belongs to him." 

Kapkan blinked, "what? No, no, I have money, let me pay--" 

The shopkeeper raised a wrinkling hand with a sharp hush from her lips, "I don't want to hear it, young man. Now go on." She smiled brightly and waved him off. 

Kapkan placed the money back into his wallet and let out an embarrassed sigh, "thank you." That ws all he could think to say before leaving the old woman to her shop.

\-------- 

Braving through the thick snow, Kapkan returned to the base and slipped into his room to hide the gift. He decided hiding it in his bedside table behind his tiny collection of books on the bottom shelf would be good enough. With the present properly hidden, the Russian decided to kill time in the gym before dinner.

The gym was populated by a handful of operators most likely with the same plan as Kapkan: workout, build up an appetite, treat yourself to a large dinner. Did it basically defeat the point of working out? Yes. But this dinner was a special dinner since it was New Years Eve. Instead of the bland foods of a normal work day, it was traded out for roasted ham and beef plates, junk food like crisps and cupcakes, plus of course cartons and cartons of alcohol. 

Kapkan was never one to turn down a drink but this year he decided to limit it to three so he could still be in his right mind to give his boyfriend the necklace. Glaz wasn't really a drinker so he didn't have to worry about him being smashed either. 

The Russian decided to do some weight training, joining Jackal and Sledge at the large weight rack. "Evening, Kap. How's the day been treating you?" The large Scotsman asked. 

"Very well, I would say. I found the perfect gift to give Glaz today, so I have that to look forward to." He responded. 

"A gift for New Years, hm? It must be pretty special." The Spaniard questioned, smiling warmly. 

Kapkan nodded, "yes, it is. But you don't get to know it in case the word somehow gets back to Glaz. I want it to be a surprise." 

"Bah! Where's the trust? Fine then, keep your little secret." Sledge grumbled, turning back to his weights. 

Jackal nodded, "I understand that. I'm sure whatever it is, he will love it." He encouraged Kapkan before also returning to his weights. Kapkan nodded, mainly to himself, and picked out the weights he wanted. He would never admit it but deep down he was excited to give Glaz the gift. He felt like a little kid giving his parents a gift on Christmas morning, so proud of the decision he made. He imagined Glaz wearing the chain--once the clasp was fixed, that is--every time they went into town and leaving his jacket open just enough to show off the gold jewelry. The scenario made Kapkan smile to himself. 

\-------- 

When dinner time was finally approaching, Kapkan made his way to the showers, washed himself quickly, and returned to his room to change into better clothes for the meal. He didn't want to look too fancy but fancy enough to grab Glaz's attention. He knew Glaz had a weakness for his boyfriend in sharp clothes and especially liked to spare glances at his ass in those tight khakis. 

Kapkan smirked to himself as he picked out black khakis and a button-up shirt. He decided he would leave out a tie and just stick with the nice dark green shirt with the top two buttons undone. He changed clothes and touched up his hair in the bathroom mirror before heading out to the messhall where he and Glaz planned to meet.

The Russian entered the messhall which was now decorated with black and gold ribbons and a 2020 cutout hung up on the far wall. The tables had been rearranged and smaller tables were set up with the food on the same wall as the 2020 cutout. Black table covers were placed over the seating and food tables to complete the sleek look. 

Operators were already beginning to gather when the hunter arrived. Some were standing in a circle by the food, others were in groups at the tables, with a few ops secluding themselves to quieter areas of the party. Kapkan scanned through them, looking for Glaz's face when he settled on a pair of eyes staring back at him. Kapkan smiled at his boyfriend and walked closer. 

Glaz met him halfway, instantly sliding his hands around his boyfriend's waist but not breaking eye contact, "you look good," he complimented with a mischievous glint in his eyes. 

Kapkan put his hands on the other man's shoulders and leaned in close to his face, "so do you," he responded before closing the gap and pressing their lips together. 

Glaz hummed in response then pulled away, "let's go wait for the food, I'm starving." 

"As you wish." Kapkan teased, throwing his arm around his boyfriend's shoulders and walked closer to the food table. The main dishes hadn't been brought out yet to make sure everyone was present who wanted to be. This way everyone got to grab some of the tender meat before others with bigger appetites could sweep in and take the rest. 

People were already picking away at the snack foods in the meantime, grabbing crisps and vegetables from the bowls and trays. Glaz picked out some vegetables, holding up a celery stick to Kapkan's mouth. The other Russian took a bite to entertain his lover before Glaz ate the rest

"Well, if it isn't my two favorite Russians!" A clearly intoxicated voice blurted before two hands clasped down on each of their shoulders. Glaz glanced over to the drunk American and raised an eyebrow. 

"Drunk already, Blackbeard? You haven't even gotten to eat dinner yet." Kapkan scoffed, crossing his arms. 

"Eh, I still have room for it don't you worry. You two ready for midnight? I know I am, I'm so ready." The American laughed at his own pointless banter and tried to bring the two Russians in for a hug. The two looked at each other and decided to accept a brief hug from their drunk comrade before pulling away. 

"Blackbeard, what are you doing, leave them be." A cool voice scolded the American from behind. 

"What? I was just saying a quick hi to them, what's the big deal, babe?" Blackbeard turned around to face Vigil who had his arms crossed in irritation. 

"That was not a quick hi, you were practically choking them in that hug. Now come here, let's take you somewhere else to be drunk." The Korean instructed, grabbing his boyfriend's arm. 

"Does that mean we can practice our New Years kiss? Come here, let me try it." He cupped Vigil's face in his hands while the shorter man tried to lean away.

"I apologize for his rudeness. I'm going to take him away now." Vigil sighed and practically dragged the larger man away. 

Kapkan turned to Glaz and grinned, "aren't you glad I'm not that obnoxious when I'm shitfaced?" 

Glaz raised an eyebrow, "what do you mean? You're obnoxious even when you aren't drunk." He offered a sly smile as Kapkan crossed his arms in a pout. "I'm just teasing, don't be sulky." Glaz poked at his lover's side to chear him up. 

Kapkan huffed and uncrossed his arms, "fine, fine." 

"Alright you hungry animals, come and get it!" Just then, Thermite emerged from the kitchen with two other operators in tow. They set down the meat platters to signal the official start of the New Years Eve dinner. 

Almost all the people present got up simultaneously and began their march over to the table to pick up their plates and begin stacking them. Kapkan and Glaz took their spot in line, mentally deciding what they wanted before approaching the buffet of food. 

Once they reached the tables and got all they wanted, the couple took a spot with their fellow Spetsnaz members. Finka was also there, sitting close to Tachanka as they laughed and flirted with each other. Fuze stared at them from across the table, finishing the piece of salad left on his fork, "I still find it hard to believe you two are not dating." 

The two lovebirds stopped and stared at the other Russian, "we're not," they replied in sync. 

"Ha! Bullshit." Kapkan spouted.

"I don't believe it either." Glaz added.

"We're not getting into this, boys, let's just drop it right here." Tachanka raised a hand in an attempt to calm his friends. The group grumbled, still not convinced that nothing was going on between the two of them but left it alone as he wanted. 

Meanwhile, Kapkan was almost completely finished with his plate while Glaz sat picking at his vegetables with his fork. He had finished his meat but hadn't really touched anything else. "What's wrong, Timur? You need to eat more." 

The sniper glanced up at his boyfriend and slowly moved the piece of food closer to his mouth. He stopped short of his outstretched tongue just to see what the other man would do. 

Kapkan rolled his eyes, "now you're just playing with me. Go ahead and don't eat then, but don't think you can whine to me about being hungry later." 

Glaz smirked and finally put the food in his mouth, "I thought I was the motherly one in this relationship? Are you hiding a motherly side from me, Maxim?" The Russian teased as he slowly slipped his open hand onto the other man's thigh. 

Kapkan sucked in a sharp breath and instinctively put his hand over Glaz's to keep it from moving. "Easy there, we still have some time until midnight," he mumbled to his partner. 

"Who said we had to keep it a tradition?" Glaz countered as he leaned his mouth closer to the other Russian's ear. "What if you secretly took me on that couch over in the corner? Would you like that, Maxim?" his lips now only centimeters from his partner's ear. 

With a jerk, Kapkan stood from the table and swiftly grabbed his plate to throw it away. Glaz chuckled as he watched his now hot and bothered boyfriend march toward the large trash bin. "Good lord, what did you say to the poor man? His red face makes a tomato look pale." The voice of Fuze reached Glaz from across the table. 

The sniper raised an eyebrow, "wouldn't you like to know." 

"What does that mean?" The fellow Russian asked, his voice sounding deflated. 

Kapkan returned to the table before further words could be said but he didn't sit back down. Instead he watched his lover intently, his brows furrowed as he thought about something. He finally reached his hand out to Glaz, "come with me." 

Glaz took his hand and stood from the table and let the Russian guide him toward the couch in the corner Glaz had mentioned. The sniper felt his stomach to a flip. He was mainly teasing Kapkan about using the couch, but it looked like his partner had taken the idea to heart. Could they pull this off without being caught? Or would being caught make it even better? 

Kapkan let go of his boyfriend's hand once they reached the couch. "Wait here, I need to get something." Glaz nodded and crossed his arms as he stood guard at the couch. If they were going to get into it, he didn't want anyone to take the seating place. He felt his heartrate speed up when his lover rounded the corner once again. They locked eyes the whole time until Kapkan stood in front of Glaz again. 

Kapkan shoved the sniper backward so his backside landed onto the couch and kept his eyes glued to his partner as the hunter slowly crawled onto the other man's lap. Meanwhile Glaz held his breath as he watched the other Russian to see what he'd do next. 

His lover rested both hands on Glaz's shoulders and leaned his face into the crook of his neck. The sniper felt himself tense and his gaze focused on nothing in particular while he waited eagerly for Kapkan to do something--anything--to break the tense air building between them. 

Without warning, Kapkan gently bit onto Glaz's exposed lower neck which caused Glaz to let out a small yelp of surprise. The sniper grabbed the other man's shoulder in a tight grip as he squirmed beneath Kapkan. 

Kapkan let out a deep chuckle and leaned his head back so he could look at Glaz's face, "I have something for you." The Russian pulled out the small leather pouch from his pocket and set it in Glaz's hand. 

Glaz furrowed his brows and looked down at the pouch in confusion. Without saying anything, he opened the flap and removed the golden chain. The sniper didn't make the connection at first but after staring at it for a long moment, his eyes widened in surprise, "is this--? Is this my great grandmother's necklace? You found it?" The Russian came at a loss of words, just shaking his head slightly and opening and closing his mouth. 

Kapkan's smile widened as he nodded, "yes, it is. It's yours now." 

Glaz stared at the necklace then up at his boyfriend, repeating this action twice before he finally sighed and let a small smile bloom on his face, "thank you, Maxim. This means a lot to me." He leaned over and connected their lips in a passionate kiss. 

Kapkan kissed back then nodded and pointed at the clasp of the jewelry, "unfortunately it won't close all the way so we will have to replace the clasp. Then you will be able to wear it whenever and wherever you want." 

Glaz smirked and placed the necklace back in the pouch, "then I will be sure to wear it the next time we fu--" 

"Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Happy New Year!" A chorus of voices cheered throughout the room as the clock finally struck midnight, signaling the beginning of a new year. 

Glaz and Kapkan simply turned to gaze at each other for what felt like hours before Kapkan leaned in to connect their lips and push Glaz onto his back. "Does this mean we're going through with my plan on this couch?" The sniper asked. 

"Perhaps," Kapkan teased. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might experiment with a new ship for the next story. We will see >:)


	6. Montagne/Goyo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goyo is the newest operator to join the Rainbow Six team. As he explores the base he discovers a large man with a shield that catches his interest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to try out another pretty different ship again. I really like the dynamic of a really tall and really short couple, so I picked out these two :D  
I hope you enjoy it!

The man stepped out of the shiny silver vehicle once it had been put into park. He placed his hand above his eyebrows as a shield for him to look high into the bright light of a warm summer day. He grinned at the sun as he felt a mix of excitement and nervousness. It had been three months since the letter that would seal the man’s fate arrived at his doorstep. Seeing his success in his time with previous military operations, Six had chosen him to join in the ranks of Rainbow. Who could refuse such a high honor?

The man walked to the back of the vehicle to help the driver remove his mound of luggage. Since he would be living at the base with the other Rainbow members, he brought a decent amount of clothing for various kinds of weather and activities. Of course, his gear also took up its own weighty container which he gladly offered to carry when he saw the driver begin to struggle with it. 

As the two approached the front doors of the base, three other operators approached the newest member of Rainbow to help lighten his load. One of them grinned as he took a duffel bag, “here, I have it. Don’t want any injury on your first day in, huh?”

“Yes, that would be very unfortunate. Thank you for your help.” The new member smiled.

“Don’t mention it,” he trailed off.

“My name is César. If you want to be official, you can call me Goyo.” The other man smiled warmly.

“Nice to meet you, Goyo. Call me Jordan or Thermite, I don’t mind either.” The one named Jordan responded with a large grin.

The other two nameless operators snatched some luggage from the driver so he could return to his car. He offered an exhausted thank you and rushed back outside. Goyo watched the two operators curiously as he and Thermite trailed behind them. It was a man and a woman, the man extremely tall and the woman appearing to be average height. He noted their mannerisms and the way they briefly talked to one another on the path down the hallway. “These two don’t appear to be friends, are they not?” Goyo asked the man next to him.

Jordan nodded slightly despite the confused look on his face from such a seemingly random question, “they don’t really know each other too well, yeah. Luckily though, I wouldn’t really say anyone has enemies here. There can be tense moments but those who know they don’t really get along make sure to stay out of each other’s way in our downtime.”

The other man nodded, “I see. That’s good to hear. I hope to become acquainted with everyone by the end of the week. It will be exciting to make new friends.” He smiled slightly as he looked down at the floor.

Thermite grinned, “well aren’t you just a sweet pot of honey. Don’t worry, you’ll meet plenty new friends. I can already tell you’re not the aggressive type, so you won’t go ruffling any feathers.” Thermite nudged Goyo’s shoulder, “hey, first introduction other than me: the two in front of us are Sledge and Twitch. Sledge is from SAS and Twitch is from GIGN. Sledge is loud but he means well, so don’t feel too intimidated by him. Twitch is a bit on the quiet side but ask her about her little drone thing and she’ll talk to you for hours.” Goyo watched the backs of the two operators before them and nodded slowly as he took in this new information.

The small group finally arrived to Goyo’s new dorm. It was a small room with a single bed, an even tinier bathroom, and a desk to fill the rest of the space. Thermite expressed jealously in Goyo having his own space since most of the other operators had to share space with their fellow unit members. The operators set down the luggage by his new bed and made sure everything was there for him. The tall man called Sledge patted Goyo on the shoulder with a large smile on his face, “welcome to Rainbow, friend.”

The woman called Twitched offered a hand that Goyo gladly shook, “I look forward to working with you.” The new operator smiled back and watched them both leave the room.

Jordan set the duffle bag down on the bed and let out a sigh, “well, here you go, Goyo. Looks like you have lots of fun unpacking to do, so I’ll leave you to that. You want some private time or is it okay for others to stop in and say hi? I can say the word, either way.”

“I think some time to myself to unpack would be nice, yes. Thanks for asking.” He smiled at the American.

“You got it. I’ll tell them to fuck off for now. Oh, also, dinner is always at eighteen-hundred, breakfast is at six-hundred, and lunch is at twelve-hundred. Don’t be late if you want to get the good stuff.” Jordan winked and grinned as he slipped out the door, closing it behind him.

Goyo chuckled and slumped down on his bed with a heavy sigh. He felt his body release some tension he didn’t even know he had wound up and allowed himself to slump back on the bedspread. The sheets smelled new, crisp, and fresh from the dryers. He suddenly found himself missing the familiar scent of his little apartment back in France when he was working for INTERPOL. It wasn’t much, but it was charming enough for him and he had called it home for years. He shook away the thoughts and hopped off the bed. Unpacking will be a nice distraction from his thoughts for now.

\---------------------------------------------------

Once the bags and suitcases were unpacked, Goyo let a heavy sigh of relief leave his lips. He looked over at the digital clock by his bed to see that dinner was still about two hours away. He decided that in the meantime he would explore the base and meet more of the operators he would be working with. He closed his door behind him and took a left down the hall which appeared to lead to more rooms and the bathrooms and showers dividing the two areas in the middle. He inspected the men’s bathroom and the showers to see they were empty. The showers appeared spacious and had small shelves in the shower wall for one to place little bottles of shampoo and whatever else. The new operator moved on to finish his way through the rooms on the other side of the washrooms. At the end of the hall he ran into a small group of operators talking amongst themselves. As he got closer, he heard that they were speaking German. One of them glanced over as he got closer and turned to greet Goyo, “hey, you must be the new operator! Welcome to the base, friend. I’m Blitz, but you can call me Elias if you wish.” The friendly German smiled warmly as he clapped a hand down on the shoulder of the man next to him, “this one is Dominic, call him Bandit though, he prefers that.”

“I have a mouth you know; I can talk for myself,” The one called Bandit snapped at the other man then flicked his gaze over to Goyo, “welcome to Hell, fresh meat.”

“Bandit, come on, don’t say that!” Another man across from Bandit squawked. He turned to the new operator and sighed, “ignore him, he’s…impulsive.”

“Kiss my ass, Marius.” Bandit growled. Blitz chuckled beside him.

“I’m Jäger, by the way. Glad to have you here.”

Goyo coughed and smiled awkwardly, feeling a little overwhelmed by the personalities surrounding him. “Well, thank you for the warm welcome. I look forward to going on missions with you.”

Bandit crossed his arms and rolled his eyes as he watched Goyo closely. Blitz gave a big smile and patted his shoulder, “of course! Let me know if you’d like an in-depth tour or anything else. I’d be happy to help.”

“Thanks, I think I will explore on my own for now. See you at dinner.” Goyo replied and waved a goodbye as he continued his way down the hall. He made a mental note to stay aware while around that Bandit fellow and that Jäger and Blitz could be good acquaintances once he had settled in more. The young man let his mind wander as he passed by what appeared to be a workshop where a few operators were quietly working in their spaces on all kinds of different devices. He noted to come check it out closer with his own material. Though he wasn’t too sure how keen Six would be about him testing explosives on the base. That would be a discussion for another day.

Just as he was about to continue walking, he noticed a man in the far part of the workshop that towered over everyone else there. He was fixing his body armor in place and stood up to grab a large shield by his side. Goyo watched as the man positioned himself in front of a nervous-looking recruit who slowly raised a revolver at the tall man. To Goyo’s surprise, he watched the shield extend out to the sides to provide even further protection to the man behind it. He gave a nod to the recruit who cocked the weapon and swallowed before pulling the trigger. The other operators at the far end of the shop flinched at the sound of the bullet and one even dropped his wrench and swore in surprise.

Goyo stepped further into the workshop to get a better view of what happened as everyone else returned to their work. The large man lowered the shield and leaned around to view the damage. He let out a cheerful laugh and turned the shield within Goyo’s view, allowing him to see that the bullet has crumpled and gotten stuck in the metal plating. The large man said a thank-you to the slightly shaking recruit and patted him on the shoulder before moving back to the bench to sit down.

The new operator found himself stepping closer to the shield to get a closer look at the damage he witnessed. He stopped short of the bench and stared in awe at the bullet sitting snug in the metal. The man on the bench patted the shield and grinned at Goyo, “another dent for the collection, as you can see. I will pry the bullet out later.” The man beamed at Goyo with a kind glint in his eye. Something about him instantly attracted Goyo. He had a soft and kind aura but was also strong and independent at the same time.

The new operator smiled back, “it’s a very impressive shield. Clearly you trust it to stop almost anything with how casually you had that recruit fire at you.”

The man chuckled, “yes, I am. Though you could say that’s a bad thing. If I come to rely too heavily on her, I could get seriously hurt,” he winked, “only time will tell.”

Goyo found himself smiling wider and looking away like he was a bashful little schoolgirl at the other man’s wink. ‘pull yourself together César, he was just being witty.’

“You must be the new operator that was scheduled to arrive today.” The large man stood up and began to remove his protective plating. “I’m Montagne. You can call me Monty if Montagne is too much, or just Gilles if you don’t like formality.” As his plates fell onto the bench, he held out a hand to the other man.

Goyo shook it and offered a small nod, “Goyo or César. Nice to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Goyo.” Monty smiled brightly and shook his hand firmly. His hand lingered in Goyo’s grip before the Mexican cleared his throat and slowly slipped his hand away. Was that longer hold intentional? Goyo tucked the thought into the back of his mind for another time.

Montagne turned to look at the clock hanging on the wall behind him, “ah, look at the time, dinner starts soon. How about I put my things away and we walk to dinner. Would you like to join me?”

Goyo felt his heart do a flipflop and he nodded, “of course. Dinner is the perfect time to see everyone.”

“Good idea! I can give you a rundown of everyone as we eat. Come, my locker is this way.” The large man walked over to the other operators who were also packing up to head to dinner. As Goyo trailed behind, he realized just how much taller Monty was compared to him. Goyo was already on the shorter side for a man and Monty was on the taller end, making quite the contrast between the two. Yet a part of him liked this large size difference. For whatever reason, his mind flashed an image of Montagne sitting behind Goyo with his arms wrapped comfortably around him as his back pressed against the large man’s chest. Goyo shoved the image away as quickly as it had appeared and mentally screamed at himself for such an embarrassing thought. He watched the ground at his feet while Montagne put his things away and focused on keeping the growing red on his face from being too obvious.

Monty shut the locker and turned to the new operator with a smile, “all done. Come friend, the food is calling us. I don’t think I can hold off her sweet beckoning songs any longer.” He chuckled as his silly joke and patted Goyo on the back. Goyo smiled and led the way out of the workshop and toward the mess hall. When they arrived, the Mexican saw that a small line was already starting to form up front and remembered Thermite’s advice about being at meals early if he wanted the good stuff. Him and Monty fell into line behind one of the female Germans of the GSG9 unit based on the patch on her shoulder. She glanced at Montagne and offered a small smile that carried over to Goyo as her eyes fell on him.

She turned to face the Mexican, “you’re the new operator. Goyo, yes? I’m IQ, but call me Monika when we aren’t on missions, alright?” She smiled warmly.

“Of course. It’s nice to meet you Monika.” Goyo smiled back.

IQ nodded and turned back around to grab a tray from the counter before stepping up for her turn at the food bar. Goyo did the same and fell in step behind her, as did Montagne. After Goyo grabbed some food and moved down the bar to get more, he realized how close Montagne was standing behind him. Their shoulders would brush every time the large man reached for food and his chest would be noticeably close at points when they were waiting for the line to move again. The Mexican tried to think of nothing of it, passing it off as just something Montagne did. Perhaps he was used to standing close to other people or didn’t mind personal space as much as others. He told his mind that, but his mind didn’t want to believe it in the slightest.

Once they were finished filling their trays, the two turned away from the food bar and scanned across the tables for a place to sit. “Don’t worry, there isn’t a seating chart here. What place looks inviting to you?” Monty teased and nudged Goyo’s side with his elbow.

The new operator spotted a table toward the back left that only had a few operators sitting at it. One of them he recognized as Thermite. “How about over there. I see Thermite; I met him when I arrived.”

“Thermite is a good man. He’s energetic and positive. He will be a good friend, you will see.” Monty replied, motioning for Goyo to follow him over to the table.

“Hey, Goyo! I see you made another friend here. Our very own gentle giant.” Thermite teased as the two sat down. A man sitting on the same side as Thermite rolled his eyes and bit into an apple. Goyo glanced at the mystery man and smiled with a nod. The other man didn’t reciprocate and instead stared as he took another bite of his apple. Goyo blinked, confused at the cold reaction.

“Don’t mind him, he’s just shy—”

“I am not shy.”

“He isn’t good with people for the most part. He’s like a cat, he chooses who he likes, and that’s it.” Thermite explained as if the man wasn’t there.

The mystery man scoffed and rolled his eyes again, mumbling something in another language that Goyo recognized as Korean, “you’re an idiot,” he stated blankly. Just then, another man arrived to sit next to him and pulled him up against his side.

Thermite smirked, “see, told ya. Blackbeard here is one the cat decided to pick.”

“Chul Kyung is a cat now?” The one called Blackbeard asked, clearly confused by the conversation.”

“Ignore them.” Chul Kyung replied as he settled in against Blackbeard.

Montagne chuckled as he watched the whole conversation unfold, “you all are so funny. Anyway, why don’t we help Goyo learn about everyone here instead?”

“Good idea! I’ll start: you see that group over in the corner? That’s the Russians, the Spetsnaz.” Thermite began to explain, with Monty jumping in at points, all the different members of Rainbow Six. In the end, Goyo had a basic understanding of everyone and did his best to retain as much as he could. Thermite would sometimes get caught up in his ramblings and go on a gossip rant around this operator and that one.

Once everyone was introduced and their plates were empty of food, Blackbeard and Vigil, as César learned his codename was, left the table for their quarters. Thermite decided he wanted to head to bed early, leaving Goyo with Montagne at the table alone. Goyo finished his last bite of rice when he realized that Monty was sitting awfully close like how he was when they were in line. He slowly turned his head to look at the other man, only to be met with a pair of brown eyes staring back at him. Montagne smiled slowly but didn’t say anything while he continued to stare.

For a while, Goyo stared right back but eventually he felt his skin start to crawl and he began to feel embarrassed. Monty noticed his squirming and chuckled as he rested his chin in his hand, “there’s something interesting about you, César. Though I am not quite sure what it is. At least not yet.”

Goyo felt his heart skip a beat at the way the Frenchman pronounced his name with his French tongue. He clenched his jaw to distract him from his warming face, “I see. Well, perhaps you will figure it out in due time. However, I have something to say to you.”

The large man raised his eyebrows and let a smile play on his lips, “oh?”

Goyo leaned in slightly and lowered his voice for just them to hear, “it seems to me that you have ulterior motives here. Am I wrong to assume that you are looking to be more than just friends with me?” Goyo mentally slapped himself. What the hell was he saying? He just met this man merely two hours ago and he was already assuming he wanted to be with him? Stupid. ‘It was stupid’, Goyo thought to himself.

However, Goyo watched as Montagne rested his arm on the table and scooted a little closer to him. His arm sat close to the other man’s elbow which rested on the table. Goyo felt himself freeze and watched the large Frenchman closely. Montagne smiled warmly but the new operator noticed a small smirk hiding beneath the smile, “I’m not really sure what else to say besides: you caught me. Like I said, there’s something interesting about you and I would like to figure it out if you allow me to.”

Goyo stared intensely at one of Monty’s shirt buttons to avoid his piercing gaze as he spoke. After he was done, the Mexican slowly raised his eyes to meet the Frenchman’s. He didn’t know what to say. What _should_ he say to this? The other man was technically asking him to date him, but would he date someone he barely knew like this? Looking back on when he first saw Montagne in the workshop, he would admit he felt something change in him. He found himself wanting to hear his laugh more, to see his warm smile looking down at him, to have him stay close to him as he were now.

The new operator felt a gentle touch on his elbow and pulled himself from his thoughts to see the Frenchman had moved his hand to rest on Goyo’s elbow on the table in a soft gesture. Goyo swallowed and let out a sigh, “I’m sorry, I’m not used to this kind of thing. I haven’t really had any serious relationship before, so I don’t know how to act in these types of moments.”

Montagne chuckled and scooted himself even closer, “Well, this would be the time where you give an answer to my question. If it’s a yes, then all is good. If no, then I will go to my room to cry myself asleep but eventually get over it.”

Goyo let his mouth fall open, “wait, really?”

Monty laughed, “I’m kidding, don’t worry, I’m a big boy, I can handle rejection just fine.”

Goyo sighed again, closing his eyes momentarily before opening them again. Suddenly, he gently grabbed Montagne by the cheeks with one hand and pushed them inward slightly with his middle finger and thumb, “well luckily I’m not rejecting you.”

Montagne attempted to grin through Goyo’s grip, “rweally? You bean it?”

“Yes, I ‘mean’ it.” Goyo teased as he let go of the other man’s face.

Montagne let out a small laugh and suddenly pounced at the smaller man in a hug. He wrapped his arms around Goyo and pulled him up against him so he could cuddle. Goyo couldn’t help but to let out a laugh as he allowed himself to be pulled into the gentle giant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next will be Smoke/Rook ;)


	7. Smoke/Rook Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rook always felt uneasy about his fellow operator Smoke. But when the Frenchman spends some time alone with him, he begins to feel something different for the other man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, it's been a while hasn't it? What a crazy year this has been! And, to be honest with you, I've been sitting on this story for a while. I just can't seem to feel confident about it and it made me hesitate to post it. But after reading through it over and over, I decided I should post it anyway. Oh yeah, and I broke my rule on this story so there's actually two parts :D

Rook hurried his way down the hall with both his hands wrapped tight around the handles of duffle bags filled with various military equipment. Normally this weight would be nothing for him to hold, but this was his third trip carrying bags across the base, so his arms were finally beginning to tire. The Frenchman gritted his teeth and encouraged himself internally as he saw his destination just at the end of the hall.

He entered the roomy storage closet and neatly set the bags on a metal wrack on the opposite wall of the entrance. With a sigh of relief, the Frenchman let his arms relax for a moment as he rolled his shoulders and walked out the door. As soon as Rook closed the door behind him, he noticed his friend Doc approaching him, “hello Julien, I would like to ask a favor of you.”

Julien mentally let out a yell of frustration but smiled regardless. Could he not get ten minutes of peace to himself today?

“bonjour, Gustav. What can I do for you?” Rook asked.

“Porter had a chemical mishap while messing with his smoke formula and I have work that needs my attention, so would you mind helping in the clean-up? Just wear gloves and a mask and you’re safe, I promise.”

James Porter, also known as Smoke, when on a mission. Smoke always rubbed Rook the wrong way for some reason. He didn’t outright distrust him, but a part of himself always told him to keep his guard up if he was ever on a mission with him. Even so, he would help his fellow operator because Doc asked him.

“No problem, we’ll get it done.” Rook responded with a tiny smile.

Doc nodded, “thank you, Julien. Porter is in one of the spare rooms down the hall.”

The Frenchman headed off down the hall to meet Smoke in his little lab. Because there were some empty rooms on the base, Six allowed Smoke to customize the space to set up his lab for testing and making more of his special smoke grenades at a safe distance from everyone else.

Julien knocked on the already open door to alert James of his presence as he stepped inside, “James? Gustav sent me to help you out; I hope you don’t mind.” The man scanned the room to find James hunched over on the ground next to a dark orange liquid. The Englishman didn’t acknowledge and didn’t stand up in response to Julien’s greeting.

Rook blinked and slowly moved further into the room despite the lack of reaction from the other man. He found a small supply closet next to a table decorated with perfectly clean beakers, graduated cylinders, and test tubes set up on little racks. Within the closet Julien was lucky enough to find paper masks and rubber gloves that he was instructed to wear.

After putting on the protective measures, the Frenchman stepped over to James, who was still hunched over, and squatted down beside him, “let’s get this all taken care of. With the two of us you should be able to get back to your work twice as fast, right?” Rook smiled beneath his mask even though Smoke wouldn’t have been able to tell he was doing so.

It was then that the Frenchman noticed that James was dressed in his mission garb—mask and all. Rook figured having the headgear on made sense, as it would protect him from the gas and any mishaps like this one. But why did he wear the whole uniform along with it? Did he not have a separate lab outfit or something of the sort? Something he wouldn’t have to worry about getting dirty, ripping, getting spilled on, or something like that?

As Rook’s confused thoughts swirled in his head, he realized that he had been starting at Smoke’s masked face for far too long now. However, he has also noticed that Smoke was now starting right back at him. The Frenchman could see his own face reflected in the shiny eye socket of the gas mask and quickly changed his expression from surprised to passive. Even so, he had a feeling that Smoke had already noticed his shock.

Rook cleared his throat and looked down at the orange spill, “so do we just use towels to clean this up, or?” he asked sheepishly. He heard James scoff as he stood up and walked over to a medium sized cabinet. When he opened it, Julien saw that there were stacks of single use mop heads and sticks you attach them to. Beside that there were bright hazard bags, which Julien assumed the used mop heads would be tossed into for proper disposal. He reminded himself that using towels would require wringing them out over the sink and that was, in fact, a terrible idea and probably illegal in some way. He added in a mental smack upside his head to reinforce what a stupid question he had asked.

James returned to Rook and tossed three mop heads down at him and rested the attaching stick on the counter beside him. The Frenchman stood up and thanked the other man for the supplies. All he got in return was a quiet hum as a ‘you’re welcome’ before the two set to work. As they worked, neither said a word and instead kept their heads down as the pair carefully mopped up the semi dangerous liquid. Julien made sure to make use of the other two mop heads he was given in order to avoid any trouble he could cause with an overused mop. For whatever reason, his mind told him to tread lightly around Smoke and avoid any chances of upsetting him. Though he had never seen or even heard of Smoke losing his temper he didn’t want to test how far the mysterious man’s limit was.

After twenty or so minutes, the two men finally got the floor cleaned and back to normal. They disposed of the mop heads safely into a hazard bag, which Rook gladly let Smoke take care of. The Brit would have an idea of what to do with it. Rook would be clueless.

After disposing the bag, Smoke returned to the room and positioned himself in front his special chemistry setup without a word to Rook. Rook, now nervous and unsure of what to do next, opted to stand by the doorway and fold his hands behind his back almost as if he was standing at attention. Smoke took notice of this and glanced over at the younger man from behind his mask, “thanks for the help.”

Rook blinked and let his hands fall to his sides, “you’re welcome, Smo—uh, James. May I call you James?”

The Brit stopped what he was doing for a quick moment then continued working, “fine by me.”

Julien nodded, “excellent.” His eyes studied the little lab the other man had set up. The equipment looked to be old but well cared for. There was a light orange tinge stained on many of the glass objects from the constant exposure to Smoke’s signature smoke gas. The Frenchman began to wonder how it all worked; how did he go about making his concoction? He never delved much into chemistry, so most of this craft was brand new to him.

“Need something, lad?” Smoke asked suddenly, breaking the silence Rook didn’t notice had fallen over them.

He pulled himself out of his wonder and shook his head, “no, no, sorry about that.” Rook turned to go but found himself stopping in his tracks. Instead, he spun on his heels and stepped back into the room, “actually, yes. If you would let me, may I see how you go about making your gas?”

Smoke’s hands froze in place after Rook had finished asking. The man said nothing and instead slowly lowered his hands to rest on the table. He tapped his right index finger, seemingly in thought, and Rook felt himself tense up immediately. He had gone too far. He crossed a line no one was ever supposed to cross, let alone get close to. Smoke would shut him out of his lab and never speak to Rook again, probably even ignore helping him on missions, too. No one ever talked to Smoke about his “beauties” as he called them. They were his most closely guarded secret, or so the other operators on the base told Rook.

“Fine, but you can only stay for a little while. Don’t want you mucking up my work by accident.” Smoke responded, jerking his head to the side as a sign for Julien to come closer. But instead of coming closer, the other man was stuck in place. He couldn’t believe what he just head. Was Smoke really going to let him watch for a bit? Was he joking with Rook? Would he laugh any second now and slam the door in his face? The Frenchman’s head swirled with thoughts as he slowly stepped over to the British man.

Smoke watched him closely and scooted his seat over so Rook could take his place on the stool beside him. “You need to wear a mask just in case somethin’ goes wrong. I can’t have you collapsing on the floor or anything like that. I can’t have another person pass out from this.”

Rook let out a nervous cough, “another person?”

Smoke let out a sound that was meant to be a chuckle, “just kidding. But I’m serious that you have to wear a mask.” The older man got up from his seat and opened a small closet next to the one that contained the cleaning supplies. He pulled out a mask looking much like the one he had on, except the eyes on this mask were clear instead of black like the one he had on. James returned to his seat and handed it over to the Frenchman, “use one of my spares. I just replaced the filter on it, so you’ll be fine.”

Rooked nodded nervously and slipped the mask onto his face. The first thing he noticed was how it smelled like James. It was a mix of cologne, perspiration, and rubber. Even so, for whatever reason, Rook found he enjoyed the smell. He was expecting it to be almost intolerable, with the rubber and old traces of sweat invading his nose, but this lighter mix of smells was much better. The younger man glanced at Smoke who was watching him closely from behind his own mask. The two held eye contact for several seconds before Smoke broke it off and turned back to his work.

Rook felt his cheeks begin to heat up and his heart rate picking up slightly. ‘No, you stop that right now. There’s no way you can start to have feelings for this man.’ Julien mentally scolded himself and tried to keep himself focused on what the other man was doing.

“Do me a favor and close the door, will you? And flip the switch on the wall behind it.” Smoke asked the other man. Rook did as he was told and found that the switch he flipped was for some sort of fan or ventilation system. Rook assumed it was another precaution in case the gas leaked or something of the sort. Once the Frenchman returned to his spot, Smoke began to work.

Rook was amazed as he watched Smoke effortlessly mix different liquids and poor them to precise measurements with the greatest of ease. Smoke has been doing this so long and so many times that it was all just muscle memory to him; a second nature that he understood perfectly. Rook was almost jealous on how easy the other man made it out to be.

“The mask suits you.” James spoke, breaking the silence.

“It—what?” Rook stammered, taken aback by such a seemingly strange compliment, if one can call it that.

“I said the mask suits you. I know it isn’t your style, but it adds some much-needed intimidation to you. You’re too soft-looking in your normal garb.” Smoke continued.

Rook wasn’t sure if he was being complimented or criticized. Was Smoke saying he had too much of a baby face? Or did he mean he was too cute to be a hardened special operative? He decided to take it as a strange compliment, “ah, thank you I suppose.”

Smoke let out a small hum in response and continued his work. The minutes crawled by as Julien watched in amazement as the other man finished making his smokes for about two weeks supply. Once the Brit completed the last bottle, he carefully packed them all into a secure crate that sealed them away until he had use for them. He placed the crate in a closet with a steel door that was complete with a lock and key. Once the door was locked, James turned to Julien, “right then. No need for these buggers anymore.” James grabbed his mask and slowly began to take it off.

For whatever reason, Julien didn’t reach for his own mask and instead watched James as the mask exposed his chin, then his lips and nose, then his eyes which were closed for the moment. He shook his head to loosen up his slightly sweaty hair and opened his eyes to reveal dark brown orbs that immediately met Rook’s light blue ones. The Frenchman felt his breath catch in his throat and he manually swallowed it in an attempt to gain his composure back as he looked away.

Unfortunately, Smoke noticed this moment of hesitation in Rook and let a small smirk show on his lips. He walked over to the other man and put out his hand with the palm facing up. Rook, confused as first, stared down at his hand with a blank stare. James curled in his fingers to point at Rook’s face, “the mask, kid. Unless you plan on keepin’ that thing on all day.”

“Oh, yes, right, sorry.” Rook replied, now in a flustered state. He quickly removed the mask and placed it in Smoke’s hand. Smoke nodded and put both the masks back into the cabinet. He turned to Rook once again and bowed his head in a goodbye before taking his leave, leaving Rook sitting by himself in the small room. The Frenchman sat in silence and let his head stir with all sorts of thoughts. What just happened between the two of them? Within the span of an hour, maybe a little more, his brain went from not trusting Smoke in the slightest to wanting to know whatever he could about the man. Not wanting to deal with these emotions right now, Rook decided to head to the mess hall for a big dinner in order to drown these thoughts and hopefully forget they ever crossed his mind.

When the Frenchman arrived, he saw that others were beginning to gather for their dinners as well. He saw a few of his fellow GIGN members and offered them a small wave before stepping into line to get his meal. After his plate was stacked as much as he could, he took a seat next to Montagne, who was sitting next to Lion. Across from the boys sat Twitch who watched Rook closely as he sat down. “What’s wrong, Rook?” Twitched asked, raising an eyebrow as he brought a forkful of food to her mouth.

“What? Nothing is wrong, Emmanuelle, why are you asking?” Rook tried to brush off her question and began to fill his mouth with food in order to stall him from talking any further.

Twitch shrugged, “you look nervous or tense or something, so I wanted to make sure you were all right.”

“Our little Rook is nervous? Tell me son, what’s troubling you?” Montagne asked with a warm smile on his face. Lion leaned forward beside him to get a look at Rook but didn’t say anything.

“Nothing is wrong with me, I promise! Now please stop with the questions.” Rook squawked as he shoveled even more food into his mouth.

Montagne chuckled and patted the younger man on the back, “fine, fine, I will not press you further. Despite me not believing that you are perfectly fine, but I will respect your privacy.”

“I don’t believe him either. Rook, why won’t you tell us?” Twitch pressed.

“Emmanuelle let the boy have his secrets. If he wants to tell us, then he will on his own time.” Montagne gently scolded the female operator. Twitch let out a huff but said nothing more as she finished off her food.

Now Rook was filled with even more uncertainty. He didn’t feel like talking to them about his newfound confliction, but he also wanted to relieve the anxiety building inside of him somehow. After finishing his dinner and allowing himself some time to think, he decided he would sit down with Montagne to talk about this. He knew that Twitch meant well and wanted to help just like Montagne, but Monty had a much more calming aura that Julien desperately needed right now.

So, the two French operators sat down on Rook’s bed in the shared GIGN room and Julien explained his situation involving Smoke. The giant Frenchman listened patiently and nodded along to the other man’s words. After Rook was done, Montagne sat back and let out a sigh in thought, “I’m assuming you are wanting my opinion on this?” Rook nodded eagerly. “Well, I personally don’t see why this is a problem. So, you are developing feelings for Smoke, is that a bad thing? He may be a little mysterious and more on the blunt side, but will you not at least give him a chance?” The fellow Frenchman watched Rook’s face closely as he asked his question.

Julien twirled his fingers and tapped his foot, “I don’t know, should I? What if I’m thinking this all wrong and he was just acting how he does around everyone?”

“Well, you can’t find out either way until you talk with him more, right? So, get to know him! Sit at meals with him, ask if he would like to work out with you, small things like that.” Montagne encouraged the younger operator.

Rook shook his head, “I don’t know, Monty.”

“I’m not trying to force you to do anything, my friend. In the end, this is completely up to you, but I do suggest at least giving him a chance. Who knows what will happen, eh?” Montagne winked at the other man with a nudge to his side before standing up to leave Rook to himself.

Rook tapped his foot again. ‘Give him a chance. You know what, I will give him a chance. Maybe this won’t be so bad.’ He thought to himself before slumping back onto the bed and closing his eyes.

‘This won’t be so bad.' 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 will be coming soon!


	8. Smoke/Rook Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the conclusion to this little pairing! I hope you enjoy!

The next day Rook decided to approach Smoke at lunch. His plan was to sit with him and try to start a casual conversation. He figured it would make for a good start. Nothing too forward but enough to show that he wanted to know him more. After a morning of working out and mentally psyching himself up, Julien stepped into line for his lunch and scanned over the mess hall looking for James. Not seeing his familiar face, the Frenchman felt his shoulders drop both from disappointment and releasing the tension he was holding in them. He made up his lunch, took a seat at an empty table, and ate in silence.

Even though he had been anxious all morning now that his plan had failed, he for some reason felt upset about it. He admitted to himself that beneath the nervousness, he was excited to get the chance to talk more with Smoke. He wanted to know more about the man under the mask—

Someone had sat down in front of Rook during his inward monologue. The Frenchman slowly raised his blue eyes to see the figure before him munching on something.

“You know why I like eating grapes? For one they taste good, yes, but also because of that little pressure you feel when breaking the skin of it. It’s satisfying, innit?” Smoke casually talked at Rook who sat with his jaw hanging open slightly. Smoke stopped chewing and raised an eyebrow, “trying to catch flies, are you?”

Julien blinked and quickly shut his mouth. How did James just suddenly appear like that? Did he miss him sitting out in the crowd? Was he behind him in line? But the most important question was: why was he sitting with Julien?

“You should eat, kid. This food is barely edible when it’s warm, eating it cold is just a form of torture at that point.” Smoke jabbed his fork in the direction of Rook’s plate. Rook forced the cogs in his brain to begin moving again and process what was happening before him. Now was his chance to get to know Smoke, just as he wanted.

“I doubt I will get an answer to this question, but why did you choose to sit with me today?” Rook asked cautiously. As Julien suspected, Smoke didn’t answer and instead stared him down with the tiniest smirk appearing on his lips. Rook sighed, “alright then, keep your secrets.”

As strange as it was, the two men were able to keep a conversation going through the entire meal. There were never long pauses of awkward air where they thought of new subjects to switch to. Everything smoothly transitioned from one topic to the next, with each man having plenty to add to the discussion.

Once they noticed that both their plates were empty, Smoke propped his elbows up on the table and folded his hand into a fist with the other hand cupped around it, “you know, I got to thinkin’ after you helped me in my lab and I’ve decided that you can come by and watch whenever you feel the need to. You keep your hands to yourself, so I trust you ‘round my work.”

“You,” Rook’s voice hesitated, “you’re allowing me to visit you in your lab? Do you ever let anyone besides yourself in the lab when you work?”

Smoke shook his head, “not until you, no. I don’t trust a big part of this lot, but you,” James shrugged, “you managed to get on my good side. So, congrats.” The Brit flashed a toothy grin. A certain glint in his eye as he smiled made Rook shudder slightly.

“I—wow. Thank you for trusting me. I would love to watch you work more often.” Rook beamed at the other man, genuinely happy for this special permission.

Smoke raised an eyebrow and let a small smile appear on his face, “careful kid, you’ll rot someone’s teeth out with that sweetness of yours.”

Rook blinked and stopped beaming only for it to be replaced with a blush, “you think I’m sweet?”

“Is that really something you got to ask? I’m pretty sure it’s well-known you’re one of the real rays of sunshine ‘round these parts. You and that German lad.”

Julien looked down at his hands. He was so confused by Smoke’s words. He was calling him sweet, which could be seen as a compliment, but at the same time he sounded so passive and nonchalant about it as if it was a statement. So, which was it, was it him trying to flirt or him just stating the obvious? Rook didn’t know anymore.

“I’m afraid I don’t have any more beauties to make today, but you can stick around with me if it tickles your fancy. I’m going into town to run some personal errands if you’re into that sort of thing.” Smoke said, breaking Julien’s thoughts.

Julien looked up, “oh! Well, it’s a rest day for me, so why not. I would love to come along as long as I’m not intruding on anything.”

Smoke stood up from the table and waved the Frenchman off, “bah, nonsense. Come on then, get going.”

Rook smiled excitedly and stood up in a flash, emptied his tray and went to his room to fetch some fresh clothes once he remembered he was still in his workout garb. The younger Frenchman met James at the front doors and the two took a bus into the nearby town. It was small but lively, with various little shops, a bakery, and other businesses. As the two men exited the bus and began walking down the street, Rook inhaled the pleasing aroma of fresh bread baking somewhere nearby.

“Smells good, yeah? Remind me and we’ll take home a few rolls to sneak to some mates.” James smirked. Rook nodded in agreement, already eager to taste the warm bread. Smoke spent some time picking up a few supplies for himself and his gear; ducted tape for his suit, a few new flasks for his lab, and other items Rook didn’t care to remember. He found himself exploring other sections of the store, half spacing out in the process. He felt himself relaxed around Smoke now, the original uneasiness a distant memory. Smoke had a strange way of expressing his thoughts, but Julien could see he meant no harm and was simply going about things in his own unique way. After James bought his supplies, he collected Rook and the two left the store.

“There’s this tiny bookstore ‘round the corner there I’m taking you to. The wife of the owner has a little thing for me, I’m sure of it. Last time she took half the price off the book and the time before that she gave it for free. So, if you see anything you fancy, just say the word.” James smirked and winked at the other man.

Rook offered a tiny smile, “No, I couldn’t do that, it would feel wrong. If I find anything, I will buy it myself. I want to support them fully.”

James scoffed, “fine, fine, be the good guy, then. Damn you for having a big heart.” He sighed and patted the Frenchman on the shoulder. Rook blinked, confused by his action. It felt too affectionate for Smoke. Maybe he meant it in a fatherly way instead. Rook told himself this to stop himself from thinking there was anything more going on between the two of them.

The two approached the bookstore and James entered first. Sure enough, a woman who Rook assumed was the owner’s wife looked up as they entered and beamed from behind the counter, “James! It’s good to see you again, you haven’t been in in a while.” She chirped.

“’ello, misses Reid. Good to see you, too.” Smoke replied with a small smile.

Mrs. Reid looked to Rook, and her smile wavered just slightly, “ah, hello there. You came in with James. Are you his boyfriend?”

Rook coughed and shook his head, “oh, no, no, we’re just friends.” Rook hesitated on the word friend, debating if he had even earned that title yet. Should he have used something else? Teammate? Coworker? He could already feel the heat growing on his face from the blushing.

“Oh my, I’m so sorry for assuming! Well, it’s nice to meet you,”

“Julien.” He replied, now wanting to leave the store from embarrassment.

“Julien.” She echoed, nodding her head and returning to the books on the counter.

Rook hurriedly moved to a bookshelf close to the corner of the shop that was practically overflowing with aging novels. James rounded the corner, flashing a big grin on his face, “Told you she had a thing for me. She saw you as a threat as soon as you stepped in.” He held back a chuckle and shook his head.

Rook hid his face in a book he had opened, “I’m glad you enjoyed it, because I’m so embarrassed now.”

“Eh? Why’s that? It was an honest mistake, don’t take it too hard, kid.” He rested an arm up on the bookcase. “Did little Rook here think we were going on a little date together?” he teased the other man.

Rook lifted his head, “what, no! No, I—” he stopped short, unsure of where he was going with his sentence.

“You what?” James pressed, cocking his head to one side. “Did you want this to be a date?” The other man took a step closer to Julien. Julien noticed this and felt himself tense up.

“No, I didn’t. I expected this to be a harmless trip into town and that’s all.” Rook forced out the words as best he could without stammering and tripping over them.

Smoke continued to move closer but kept himself far enough away as to leave room between their chests. He kept his eyes trained on Rook’s face, watching as his eyes moved all around Smoke but never settling to meet his gaze. It entertained the Brit to see the younger man so flustered. “Hm. What a shame. I’m not against this being more than a trip into town.”

“Wait, what? Are you being serio-“

“Find anything you like, boys?” The Frenchman was interrupted by Mrs. Reid who came over to check on them. Rook whipped around, stepping away from James to create more breathing room between them.

“Nothing yet Mrs. Reid but thank you for checking.” Julien replied, fighting to keep his voice level. He swore he heard a quite chuckle from James behind him.

“Alright then, please let me know if you’d like any suggestions.” She smiled, glancing over at James before returning to the counter.

The younger man let out a sigh of relief and slowly turned back around to face James, “I think I’d like to go back to base now.” He said defeatedly. He was at his limit with the tension building between them.

James raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, “what a pity. Not even buying yourself a book?”

Rook glanced down at the one in his hand, “I suppose I could give this one a try. This is the fantasy section, so I will probably enjoy it.”

“Right, c’mon then,” Smoke snatched the book from the Frenchman’s hand and headed toward the counter, “it’s my treat.”

“Wait, James, I can pay for it.” Rook tried to snatch the book back.

The Brit suddenly whipped around and grabbed Rook by the collar. He leaned his face in so close that their noses were now touching, “I said it was my treat. For being so fuckin’ cute.” He let go of the other man and treaded off to the checkout counter. Meanwhile, Julien found himself frozen in place. Smoke had called him cute. He complimented him, as aggressive as it was, but in a flirtatious way. Did this mean he actually had feelings for him?

Smoke bought the book, with a generous discount from Mrs. Ried of course, and walked back over to Julien. He snapped his fingers in the other man’s face, “Rook, you there? Time to go, just like you wanted.”

Rook blinked a few times then focused his eyes on the operator in front of him, “uh, yeah, yes, right. I’m ready.” He followed the other man out the door, letting his head continue to spin. As they walked down the street, Rook strayed behind James and stared intensely at his back. His brows were furrowed, and he felt like something had to be said. But what? Then, something broke within him. He was suddenly tired of this confusing game James has begun to play with him. In his rush of frustration and anger, he grabbed the Brit’s hood and dragged him backward to stand closer to the Frenchman.

A grunt of protest came from Smoke as he was dragged backward and whipped around to smack Julien’s hand off him, “steady on, fuckin’ hell! What’s gotten into you?” He asked, slightly irritated from the harsh treatment.

Julien cocked his head to the side quickly, motioning for the two of them to step off the path into a small alley. The Brit followed; his brows now furrowed.

“I want to be done with this game you seem to have with me, James. I don’t understand what you want from me. Do you want to just be friends or are you wanting to be something more? Just-” he raised his arms then dropped them back down to his sides in a frustrated gesture, “tell me already, dammit!”

What happened next was something that Rook did not expect. He was expecting a yes or no from the other man, given to him in that strange manor Smoke always did. But no, he didn’t. Instead, a sound rose from his throat and slipped past his teeth through his now opened mouth. Smoke had started laughing. Not a full laugh, but definitely more than a chuckle. It was softer than Rook imagined the Englishman’s laugh to be. It made something bloom in Rook’s chest and he left his cheeks warming in embarrassment.

“James?” Julien asked somewhat timidly.

The other man collected himself and waved his hand dismissively, “that’s probably the angriest I’ve ever seen you get the entire time you’ve been with Rainbow.” Rook’s shoulders dropped, disappointed in Smoke’s apparent dismissal of his question. Smoke, picking up on this, let out a small sigh and crossed his arms, “alright, I’ll stop with my bullshit now. To answer your question, yes, I want to be something more than friends. Is that what you wanted to hear, love?” He asked teasingly, suddenly snaking his arms around Rook’s stomach.

The Frenchman tensed and his cheeks grew even more red at the very forward gesture, “I don’t know—I mean—I think so. I—yes. Yes, it is.” He stumbled over his words before arriving at the answer he wanted to give.

Smoked hummed in response and tightened his grip on the other man, leaning forward to put his weight against Rook and force him to lean back slightly. He forced the Frenchman to take a few steps backward, moving the pair further into the alley.

“James, what are you--?” Rook asked, now very flustered. Before he was able to finish his sentence, the Brit put his full weight on the other man, forcing him to fall backward onto the ground with a grunt. Frozen in place, Julien watched Smoke carefully, unsure of his next move.

Smoke leaned his face down to hover just above Rook’s nose, flashing a toothy grin. He finally opened his mouth and let out another laugh just like the one Julien heard a few minutes ago, “sorry, making you uncomfortable is just so easy. Plus, I like watching you squirm, it’s kind of adorable.” Rook, having no idea how to respond to this, simply gripped at the back of James’s sweatshirt with both hands.

James tilted his head to one side and smirked, “like a bird caught by the cat, I see. Come on then.” Smoke leaned down and gently kissed Rook on the neck. Rook stiffened but relaxed after a moment and loosened his grip on James. James chuckled and stood up over Rook, offering a hand to the other man. Julien slowly took the offered hand and stood up, brushing off his back as best he could. The Brit smirked at the other before turning around, “let’s go get some of those rolls I told you about, yeah?” the man walked to the entrance of the alley where he turned back around and held a hand out to Rook.

Rook, whose head was still stirring after what just happened, simply stared down at the hand. Smoke raised an eyebrow at him, “you’re supposed to grab it, mate.”

“Ah, right, sorry.” Julien slowly placed his hand in Smoke’s and the other man gripped it immediately, pulling the Frenchman over to him.

“Cat got your tongue, Julien? You were talking just fine not too long ago.” James teased as he playfully poked the other man’s side.

Rook grunted but let out a chuckle nonetheless, “no, I’m fine, this was all just very sudden. I honestly wasn’t expecting you to say yes to my question.”

“Well, I did, and now we’re here. There’s nothing to worry about, I don’t bite I promise ya. Well, not unless you want me to, that is.” He winked at Julien whose face instantly flushed, which prompted a small laugh from the Brit as the two headed back to the bakery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a really interesting pairing to write, I must say. I'm not sure who to write about next, but I'm kind of leaning toward the new boy Ace with someone. Have a pairing suggestion for him? I'd love to hear some!

**Author's Note:**

> The next chapter will be another poly relationship featuring Blackbeard/Maestro/Maverick!
> 
> Also, because I want to build up lots of chapters in this collection, feel free to suggest ships!


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